(Cancelled) The War of Onyx and Aber: Secret of the Silver Eyes
by PathofOdinSonofThor
Summary: We all know by now that Ozpin and his crew are a secret society that protect the world from things 'they don't even know about' and Grey finds himself mixed in with them. While he tries to navigate the social politics of high school, he has to train directly under the major professors at Beacon in order to discover the true meaning of his silver eyes and avoid hurting his friends.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N) For those of you dislike cute, fun, quirky girls laughing and having fun; for those of you don't like love and brotherhood between comrades; and most importantly, for those who dislike having joy in their life, this story is not for you. Seriously, if you don't want to enjoy your life through great literature, close out this window right now and go look for spelling mistakes in the dictionary.**

 **Without giving any real spoilers, this story is primarily romance/action with the plot revolving around the MC's (Grey Arsen) not-so-secret double life training directly under Ozpin. "We all know by now that Ozpin and his crew are a secret society that protect the world from things 'they don't even know about' and Grey finds himself mixed in with them. While he tries to navigate the social politics of high school, he has to train directly under the major professors at Beacon in order to discover the true meaning of his silver eyes and avoid getting his friends in Teams RWBY and JNPR caught in the crossfire. However, that's not going to be easy with his team leader craving his attention and the resident tsundere vying for his affection."**

 **I gave this story that description for a very good reason. Yes, if you didn't bother reading it on the main RWBY page, this story is OCxWeiss and OCxRuby. Just so we're clear this story will only follow the main plot of the anime up until the teams were formed halfway through season 1, and the story will be broken up into different volumes of its own as the major topics the characters endure change. Fortunately, there are no real deviations from the main canon other than the times certain characters debut, and the existence of some OCs of my own.**

 **That being said, I did retcon some inconsequential devices from the anime that will change this version of the RWBY-verse somewhat, but I promise, you will LOVE THEM. The One True Pairing is real with this one, guys. I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist. I'm not going to spoil the, again, INCONSEQUENTIAL things I decided to screw with a bit, but since I did pull the God card with them, they will in fact affect the plot in their own special ways.**

 **Enjoy this little diddy you rat bastards. I love you all.**

Chapter 1

 _Simulation start…_

The floodlights in the circular room flipped on with a deep hum. A lone figure stands in a four foot perimeter with a stern look of determination etched on his wolfish features, and as the drones swarm in, he spreads his hands, causing the white gauntlets adorning his arms to buzz with life. Whirring blades spread across the first projectile that flew at him, and he manages to duck under it with just enough speed to keep his chin length black hair from getting snipped, but the next one had to be blocked by the thick piece of armor on his forearms. They scraped and tore at the steel, but the automated buzzsaws couldn't pierce the metal. Then, as if the vambrace could read his mind, an angular blade came from the side of the bracer and slashed the orb shaped drone in half while it was still abrasively attempting to sever the limb.

Jumping high, he used a third one as a stepping stone to catch the fourth by the almost imperceptible grooves in its sides, openings for its weapons, and threw it into a fifth, causing wires and gears to explode from the impact. When he landed, the first one came within arm's reach, and he turns just in the nick of time to throw his right hand at it. The gauntlet showed itself to be perfectly in tune with his mind when the caestus across his knuckles shot out and created a crater in the artificial enemy, crushing it, and sending it to the floor. The one he used as a stool earlier was destroyed with nothing more than a single chop in one of the minute areas where the blades were not present. Then, came the real threat.

Throwing his head back to brush the hair out of his face, his silver eyes honed in on the trio of mechs appearing at the opposite end of the room. With a flick of his wrist, his projectile reattached itself to his fist and he readied his stance within the confines of his boundaries marked in the floor, and with the sound of pressurized air being released, a slew of missiles launched themselves at the man, eighteen in all, six for each mech The necessary, more precise movements for this scenario were something that he wasn't exactly used to, but he managed well enough. He redirected the flight paths of each and every one of the explosives with such minor strikes of his palms and wrist, a bob and weave of his head, and with the grace of an expert martial artist, but the real kicker, what made the scouts in the observatory on the second floor raise their brows in surprise, was when he caught one. He didn't enclose his fingers around it, but instead, sidestepped as the missile bypassed his abdomen and circled his arms like a figure eight as if he were twirling a baton. The missile stalled to get itself reaccustomed to the new flight path, but when the propulsion had been restored, it flew right back at its launcher and destroyed the center mech with a fiery boom.

"Only two left," he said to no one in particular, counting down his options and coming to a single conclusion. With a deep breath, he slipped his black blazer off of his shoulders and let it fall to the floor before closing his eyes once more. He knew beforehand that the mechs had been stripped of their automatic ammunition, only having their now useless missiles, and took advantage of this situation to gather his energy, standing in a firm stance of meditation with his eyes closed. He could feel the aura circling around him. He could almost see the energy of the earth rising up from the ground and into his body, giving him the strength to enact his plan, and when he felt he had gathered enough, when the robotic death machines were almost on top of him and ready to strike with their blades, he thrust out his palms. From a distance, one would think that the man had just shot them with an indomitable power of will or telekinetic force, but the truth was a lot more unique, even for an elite and especially for a student. His semblance was shields, barriers, and wards. If one was close enough or had the trained eagle eyes of the examiners and scouts in the observatory, they could see the silhouette of the almost transparent bulwark explode from the man's hands and push the mechs backwards until they had hit the back wall with such power that they were crushed under the pressure.

 _Simulation end,_ came the automated voice over the intercom, _congratulations, Grey. The examiners will see you now._

Picking up his blazer, wiping the splayed oil and sweat off of his jeans and blue tee shirt, he stepped through the door and glowered into the eyes of his professors with an overwhelming fire and determination, a passion for combat that they had become familiar with after so much time spent with him, that they couldn't hold back their almost amicable grins. Just like all of the professors' students, he was like a son to each of them. Now, he would graduate from this lower academy and join the family of Beacon under the wise tutelage of the great man before him.

"You have… silver eyes…" said the man with the greying hair, round sunglasses, and green scarf, toting a dapper cane in addition to his tailored suit. With mixed emotions, trepidation mixed with pride, a small smile played at the corner of Grey's mouth.

"I know," he snapped a bit more harshly than he meant to, and crossed his arms with a frown to close himself off to interrogation, his previous pride now replaced with apprehension, "You can thank my father for that. They're a big point of gossip here at Signal. Me and some other girl, an underclassman, are often the center of the rumor mill. What's your point?" The scout from Beacon nodded sagely as if unsurprised by the boy's sudden defensiveness.

"Do you know who I am?" the gentleman asked with a warm smile, leaning against his cane with both hands relaxedly. Grey's head tilted curiously.

"You're Professor Ozpin from Beacon, correct? You came to scout me for your school… Isn't that why I'm here?" Out of the corner of his eye, Grey could see the blonde woman in a tight white blouse and purple cape behind Ozpin write down some notes while looking at him darkly over her glasses. He broke eye contact uncomfortably.

"As representatives of Beacon Academy, we would like to formally offer you a place at our school for the next year's term. What do you say?"

All Grey could do was smile.

"So I accepted their offer," Grey told the man behind the cash register as he filled up the last dust dispenser for the night at the small town dust shop he worked at.

"You finally decided to become a Hunter, eh?" The man replied with a sad smile spread across his face as he removed the till filled with hundreds of lien from a successful day, "You going to follow in your father's footsteps?" Grey jumped off the ladder he was standing on and folded it up to carry to the back stock room.

"It's what I've always wanted Pop-Pop," he said with regret filling his voice, "I'm... Sorry but this is something I just have to do." They took a moment to stop what they were doing and look at each other, sharing a brief moment of silent understanding, before going back to their work.

"I love you, Grey," Grandpa Arsen told him, showing a rare form of affection while ignoring their final customer of the day at the magazine stand, "Just don't forget to stay in touch, OK?"

Grey smiled, fighting back the warm feeling in his chest, the feeling of affection that he wasn't quite fond of, and stepped over to the young girl on the other end of the store. He thought he recognized her as one of his classmates from Signal, judging by the red hood over her shoulders and the heavy metal he could hear coming from her headphones as tell tale signs of the combat prodigy in his advanced classes. She was two years younger than him, but somehow managed to create one of the strongest weapons in the academy from scratch, beat some of the most highly ranked students in single combat, and even have one of the school's most popular professor's become her private tutor. She was an impressive fighter, that was to be sure. Even though he had never actually spoken to her directly, he knew she was not to be trifled with. Despite having a reputation as the school's resident marshmallow, often getting negative attention from people who didn't have any classes with her believing she was weak and helpless, she was one of the most dangerous students at Signal. Still, he was closing up shop, so she needed to leave.

"Yo," he barked kindly, loud enough so she could hear but with a tap on her shoulder to be sure she noticed him.

"Huh?" she hummed, looking up at him. When her hood fell off to reveal the black pixie cut with a few red streaks in it, and the silver eyes just underneath them, he had to take a second to gather his composure. People told him that she shared the same ocular feature he did, the fabled silver eyes, but he had never really paid much attention to it. He never bothered to look at her closely enough to see her iris. His friends at school, and probably her own as well, had often tried to set them up together, or at least get them to be friends because of the similarity, but they both had decided to focus on their studies instead, choosing to almost completely ignored one another at school, the only exceptions being class projects.

"Sorry, but you have to leave," he said with a smile, trying to come off as kind as possible in an attempt to get repeat patronage from the girl due to his exemplary customer service. "We're closing up shop. You going to buy the gun catalogue?"

"Oh, yeah, OK," the girl said with a good natured giggle, "Sorry, I was so distracted with this. The new version of the Apollo M56 is just so beautiful that I couldn't take my eyes off it. It has some incredible firepower that the manufacturers claim can take down an airship if it's used long enough and accurately enough. I want one so bad!" She shook her arms vigorously with an ecstatic grin on her face, giggling more. Grey smiled but sighed through his nose, a clear sign of exhaustion, and looked at his watch, trying to hurry things up.

"Well, if you want the gun then you can call the number on the magazine and order it. I can check you out at my register if you want it, but if not, then I'm going to have to kick you out." He wasn't trying to be rude, but he did feel a bit bad when the girl's smile fell. She looked so disappointed, and Grey couldn't help but feel like he just kicked a small puppy, his normally stoic face even going slack for a moment in remorse.

"Oh, OK. Guess I'll go then." The girl took a few steps towards the door, but hesitated for a second, looking over her shoulder at either Grey or the magazine rack, then back to the door and repeated the cycle once more indecisively.

"Something wrong?" Grey inquired, his brow furrowing in annoyance. The girl clearly read him well enough to know that whatever she had on her mind should be saved for another time, and continued her previous action. With a shrug, the boy began straightening the shelves when he heard a yelp come from the front of the store. It had sounded like the girl had stubbed her toe on the door frame, and he was about to ignore it, but the following sound of a shelf of merchandise crashing on the floor made him sprint up to the entrance. "You OK, short stack?" He asked worriedly despite his current dislike of her, seeing her on the floor. He was about to help her up, but the anger in her eyes as she shot onto her feet made him think twice of getting anywhere near her.

"Hey!" she shouted at a group of large men in black suits, red ties and fedoras, each carrying a red sword, "Watch where you're going!"

"Easy, Red!" said their leader, a man in a white suit with curly red hair and a grey bowler hat, sporting a hooked cane at his side, "We didn't mean any trouble by it. We were just stopping by to pay a visit to the old man over there. We're customers, see, and we would like to pick up our order."

Grey had to admit that "Arsen and Son Dust Shop" wasn't in the best part of town. People would come and go and he would often see some of the most unsavory characters in the neighborhood, many of whom were regulars. A few times, the local gangs and the White Fang would come in and cause trouble, but fortunately, being a sixteen year old combat student came with its advantages, but that also led to the unsavory scenario of the shop being burned down on rare occasion. Thugs had become the norm in his home. That meant that thugs were easily recognizable to him. Gangsters were the kind of people he never tolerated, even though it sometimes led to less than desirable outcomes.

"I don't think you want to do that, Roman Torchwick," Grey said, rolling up his sleeves as he prepared for the upcoming fight, "You see, we've already closed for the day and I would really like to go home and get some sleep before I have to leave for Beacon in the morning. Maybe you can come back some other time and actually pay for your order for once instead of adding this store to the notches on your belt of ones you've robbed? I'd really prefer not to get to blood on the floors either. I just mopped them. So if you would please leave, that would be great." Roman sneered at the younger man before him, partially because the boy knew his name but also because this sassy teen didn't know his place.

"Actually, I don't think you understand how this works," he growled under a curled lip, stomping out his cigar and hefting his cane, "We come in, you cower, we steal your dust. You can keep the money, we just want the merchandise. Is that so much to ask? We don't want to cause you any trouble. We're not bad guys, after all." Grey snorted. In response to that series of ridiculous claims and requests, Grey crossed his arms, tilted his head to one side, and shot him a disbelieving look from under his eyebrows. Roman put his hands up in surrender. "OK, so maybe we are bad guys. But we'd really prefer not to hurt anyone. So if you could just stand to the side, please?"

"Wait," the young girl spoke up, blinking in confusion, "Are you… robbing this place?" Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and just stared at her for a moment, their weapons dropping from their threatening stances and a few of the goonies taking off their hats in pity of someone so utterly oblivious. Grey even ignored the immediate danger and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Wow… Child..." he sighed, "You really do catch on quick, don't you?" Immediately, he felt bad for showing this child such rudeness, because those hurt puppy eyes of hers she shot him with were so adorable that only a grimm, beasts of darkness so pure that they were said to live without souls, could look at her with apathy.

"Know what?" Roman said with theatric finality, spreading his arms to add to the effect, "I don't care about being nice anymore. Grab the dust, take the money, torch the store, and for pete's sake, start with this stupid girl."

"AHHHHH!" Grey was surprised to hear that guttural roar from such a cheesecake of a child such as her, but what really freaked him out was when she pulled the collapsible weapon out from under her hood and slammed the back of it into the face of the nearest thug, making him fly out of the window. Grey took a moment to stare at her with mixed emotions such as admiration, shock, a bit of fear and just a little bit of anger because of the damage to the store, but he appreciated the help.

"Wait, is that a scythe?" He asked her suddenly, stunned at the crescent blade forming from the contraption, facing the mob with a look of deadly determination. "Holy crap! How did you learn to use a weapon like that?" The girl smiled brightly and proudly and was about to give him an answer but Torchwick spoke up first.

"OK...?" he mused disbelievingly, "Get 'em."

"Look out!" The girl shouted at the young clerk as one of the goons slashed his sword at his face, but he was ready. He slid his foot back for balance and brought his arm up to block, but just before the sword made contact with his gauntlet, he shot out his own blade and extended it past his hand for the extra reach. From the added force of the extension, the red blade hit his own with a strong repulse that made the moron of an enforcer fall backwards, suddenly unable to stand properly. Grey took this moment to spin kick his jaw hard enough to launch him out of the store where Grey's impromptu ally was watching with bright eyes after jumping outside to fight her own battle with the criminals.

"So cool!" she moaned, "That is awesome! Did you make those things at Signal! My sister has some just like it but with shotgun shells! You guys should totally hang out! Oh, right, we're fighting."

Grey had already joined the girl outside of the shop, but ended up fighting the rest of the crew on his own as she admired his weapons, only joining the fray as soon as she remembered the situation at hand. They stood back to back, fighting side by side. It didn't take them long before they had found the perfect rhythm, perfectly coordinating with each other as if they had fought together a thousand times. They naturally fell into the roles where Grey would wound and maim the enemy, then throw them at his comrade for a finisher. He was deeply impressed by the girl's skill at such a young age. He could tell right away that she had earned her place in those advanced classes with him and her sister, and found himself having fun at the expense of the grunts they were beating mercilessly.

"So!" he shouted at her over the carnage, "Since we're fighting together, I might as well learn your name." She smiled kindly as rose petals fell around everyone she finished off. Her semblance?

"Ruby Rose!" she shouted proudly.

"Cool! Grey Arsen!" he yelled back just as he slammed another enemy's face in the concrete. When everyone was down, the few remaining conscious ones trying to crawl away in shame, they turned their attention to Roman who was standing at the door, playing with a stainless steel flip lighter. With adjoined smirks, they zeroed in on him.

"Well, it's been real children," he said in a condescending tone as if he was still in control, "But I'm afraid that things aren't going to work out, so I'm going to head to my next meeting. If you'll excuse me…" he pointed the end of his cane at the two fighters before him. Grey narrowed his eyes at the odd gesture, sensing trouble, but Ruby waited for nothing, instead choosing to charge the boss at a blinding speed too fast for the human eye to pick up, leaving rose petals in her wake. Maybe speed was her semblance? Grey barely had time to put up a ward to block the incendiary gunshot that Roman had fired from his cane at the red dust crystal at his new friend's feet. Unfortunately, this also caused Ruby to slam herself face first into the nearly invisible wall suddenly put in her path, stunning her for just a moment and giving Roman the opportunity he needed to get on the rooftops above them while Grey checked on the poor child. When he was sure she was alright, they both looked at Grandpa Arsen who was watching the scene with wide eyes.

"You OK if we go after him?" Ruby asked determinedly, and with a nod of approval, she sped off with the same speed from during the fight up the nearest wall, toting her new friend with her. It was actually kind of terrifying, Grey would describe it. The g-force nearly tearing his face off, buildings and such zipping past him in a blur, and he wasn't sure how Ruby could stand to use an ability like this unless her aura manipulated her perception of her surroundings whenever she did so, just so she would be able to use it effectively. Perhaps Ruby was used to it, but it made Grey's stomach jump in his throat. However, they were too late as Roman had already boarded a helicopter.

"Good try, kiddos!" He called to them with a wide grin, "But I'm a professional! You should have known right from the start that you had no chance of beating me. Next time I see you, though, I'll be sure to kill you quickly so I can avoid this trouble."

Grey heard a gunshot come from his right. After getting over the initial shock from the noise, he looked over with eyes the size of dinner plates to see that Ruby's weapon had changed to a smaller form with a moveable handle that she was pulling like a trigger to fire off the high caliber rounds of a sniper rifle. He smirked with a new fondness for her. In fact, the next move he did, turning his hands over so his wrists were facing the sky, showed that his wrists were lined with micro missiles on the underside of his gauntlets. However, that move was more to unnecessarily impress her than it was to finish the fight that he knew they had lost. The missiles launched off his wrists with a loud whistle screaming in his ears. With each of these ranged attacks coming at him, Roman should've been more terrified like a normal opponent would be, but his comrade who switched places with him from the pilot seat as soon as Ruby started shooting, wasn't a normal opponent. All this woman had to do to block Ruby's bullets was place her hand in their paths. As for the missiles, she rolled her hands a few times and shards of glass shot from the glowing red and gold mini dress she wore and collided with each of them, creating explosions in the air that were small, but still strong enough to push the helicopter off its course.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Ruby complained in a serious tone so out of character that it surprised Grey. They needed to come up with another plan, but before they could manage, another person decided to enter on the scene. She walked with the grace of a mountain lion as it charged its prey, her black stiletto heels clacking on the roof of the building, her hips swaying with the force of an avalanche as she brandished the riding crop in her dominant hand. It was the woman from Grey's graduation exam. She glared over her glasses and let her violet cape fall to the ground as she waved her weapon around like a wand, an effect only added onto by the glowing tendrils of dust that came from the end and wrapped themselves around the flying vehicle. Even from where he was, Grey could see the shadowed out woman in the helicopter scowl and throw out her hands with a radial force strong enough to blast the ropes to bits. Elegantly, the woman waved her hands again and the dissipating dust that the huntress Glynda Goodwitch had lost became a torrent of glass shards that shot at the trio below. It should've impaled them, except Goodwitch was ready. She held out her hands and used her lavender aura to create a barrier around herself and the students to block the oncoming storm, then used her skill of telekinesis to take control of her lost weapons once more, taking her turn to throw the glass at the machine to try to take it down. Unfortunately, Roman dipped it just in time for the glass to scrape over the top harmlessly, even if he still couldn't get it away from the huntress.

Clearly, the darker sorceress had had enough of this mess. She thrusts her hands outwards again, the force behind them stronger than before, and strong enough for a wave of blazing heat to blast the shards back into the dust that they were created from. Glynda raised her wand one more time as if to continue the fight, as stubborn as she was, but the woman she was fighting raised her hands defiantly and wrapped the helicopter in a wall of magical fire, the heat of which Grey and Ruby could feel from even the distance they were at. The pair of students jumped nervously at the growl Glynda let out. Her face was contorted in such rage when she spun her wand in a ritualistic figure eight, a vortex of air surrounding it that she shot out towards the flame until the fire had completely disappeared, the helicopter with it. She sighed, defeatedly, but then turned to Ruby and Grey with murder in her eyes.

"Oh my god, you're a huntress," Ruby gauped disbelievingly. For a second, Grey thought she was as scared as he was, but he figured he should know her better at this point, because instead of cowering in the presence of the terrifying woman, she put on that excited grin of hers again and shouted her approval, "Can I have your autograph?!"

It wasn't long before Grey and Ruby were locked in an interrogation room in the police headquarters.

"Never in all my life have I seen two students do something so stupid and foolish!" Glynda snapped at the two, pacing back and forth, "Someone could've been hurt. You guys could've gotten yourselves killed, or worse. I suppose your actions were admirable, but if it were up to me, I'd send you home with a pat on the back," the two smiled hopefully, but jumped when the woman slapped her riding crop on the steel table they were sitting at, "and a slap on the wrist!" Grey figured that he should probably have kept his mouth shut, knowing that if he pissed her off too much, she could and probably would take his position at Beacon for the following year away, but he couldn't help himself. Impulse control was something that he seemed to lack at times.

"What did you expect me to do?" he asked her in a harsh tone that got away from him, "I wasn't just going to let Roman keep taking my Pop-Pop's dust. Do you know how much money we've lost in the past year because we have to keep paying protection to him and his gang? We can't even pay our bills or rent some months. I wasn't just going to continue to let him push us around." Glynda crossed her arms in defiance to his tone, her predatory gaze unblinking.

"Really? Because it's my understanding that Miss Rose here threw the first punch?" Those harsh, hawk like eyes honed in on the younger girl who sunk into her chair nervously, trying to disappear. Grey laced his fingers together, staring at the younger girl with an odd look. He understood her as an energetic, almost hyperactive girl who was cheerful beyond any human or faunus capability to understand, however, she seemed to perpetually have an underlying layer of shyness, wanting to go unnoticed. Perhaps that was why she always wore the hood, even in school. Under the proper circumstances, like now, it was almost like she went from one extreme to the next as fast as her semblance could carry her. Glynda sighed to herself. "Like I said, I would personally like to send you home, but there's someone here who would like to meet you."

The woman stepped to the side and opened the door behind her. Seeing the man who walked through, Grey cursed under his breath and knew he was screwed, despite the plate of cookies in the man's hand. Ozpin had come to personally expel him from Beacon for next year.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Arsen," he said in a calm voice with that fatherly smile of his. Grey dipped his head in shame.

"I wish I could say the same, Professor Ozpin…" He said defeatedly. Ozpin's smile only grew.

"Don't worry, son. I'm not here for you." Grey's head perked up and he looked up at his soon to be head master confusedly, but instead of the classy gentleman paying attention to Grey, the man switched to the young girl, handing her the plate of sweets which she devoured without hesitation. "You have… silver eyes…" he said to her, leaning in closely to get a good look at Ruby's features.

"Um… thanks?" she said, suddenly self conscious. Ozpin stepped away from her again, and turned the screen of an electronic notepad to her, a video of the street fight that had taken place only minutes before playing on the pixels.

"So where did a girl as young as yourself learn to fight like this?" He asked in a tone that told Grey he already knew the answer.

"We both go to Signal Academy," Grey explained, "She's in some of the advanced classes with me, but we've never actually spoken to each other until tonight." Ozpin nodded then looked back at Ruby.

"They taught you how to use one of the most deadly weapons known to mankind?" He said with an impressed smile, a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Well, one teacher in particular," Ruby admitted, her eyes lighting up, "I used to be complete garbage before he came along, but now I'm- wah hyah!" she began throwing her arms around and making kung fu grunts like in a cheesy B-class movie.

"I know a professor at Signal. He's the only other scythe user I have seen of that level of skill. A dusty old Crow…" Ozpin mused, and Ruby nodded.

"Das ma uncuh," she said with her mouth full of cookies, the plate now almost entirely empty. The little pig wiped her mouth and swallowed her food so she could speak more clearly, "Sorry. That's my uncle. He taught me everything I know." Grey blinked at her, suddenly stunned.

"Wait, the most popular teacher at Signal, the one every girl has a huge crush on, the one with dusty jacket and greasy hair, is your uncle?" he gaped dumbfoundedly. Ruby nodded bashfully,, brushed a strand of hair out of her face and smiled at him shyly. Grey raised his eyebrow at her.

"What's an adorable girl such as yourself doing at one of the most prominent combat schools in the entire world?" Ozpin continued his investigation, leaning forward on the table.

"I want to become a huntress," Ruby explained in a more heartwarming tone, "My entire family was full of them and my mom and dad had always taught me and my sister to help people. I still have two more years of training before I get to go to Beacon Academy to continue my final training, unless my advanced classes speed that up. My sister Yang is going there this year so she can become a huntress. Sure, the police are great and all, but being a huntress is just so romantic and cool and gyah hahaha!" Grey shook his head at the girl's energy and excitement, but instead of being put off by it like usual, her happiness seemed to be contagious, and he found himself smiling because of her. Ozpin narrowed his eyes with a smirk at the girl.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked in a deeply serious tone.

"You're Professor Ozpin, the headmaster at Beacon Academy," Ruby concluded with another one of her puppy-like smiles.

"If you would like, I can promise you a spot at my school for next year? Would you like that?" Ruby's eyes lit up brightly with the same fire that Grey had seen when fighting Torchwick, but this time, directed towards a goal to be achieved rather than an enemy to be slain.

"More than anything, Sir…" It was obvious Ruby couldn't tell what to do, but she was happy, and strangely enough, Grey found that that was all that mattered to him at that moment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Let's talk about story structure, shall we?! Crap, that sounds boring...**

 **In all seriousness, I do need to explain some really cool shit to you guys before this story continues just so you have a better idea of what to expect without giving away any spoilers. Long story short, this whole thing, like I said, focuses primarily on the relationships between the multitude of characters, but that doesn't mean that this is nothing more than a fluff fic by ANY standards, and it's not going to be a smut fic either. Instead, what's going to happen is that this book, this novel, whatever you want to call it, is going to be broken up into 5 parts, acts, or volumes. Obviously, this is only Act 1 that you're reading now, and like I implied in the last author's note, only Act 1 is going to follow the main canon just so I can set up certain aspects for the following Acts like how Grey started training under Ozpin and other such nonsense. For lack of a better term, this is a prologue. I don't want to call it a prologue, I really hate using prologues, but there's just so much detail within Act 1 that I had little choice but to make it its own section of the story. This backstory is too big to just mention anywhere else in the story. Otherwise, it's notoriously short.**

 **Other than that, you've got to understand something. I've already planned out and outlined the majority of this story in advance, and have written all the way to nearly the end of Act 3. What that means is that the plot has already been more or less decided in advance, just so I can make sure the story makes sense, and is interesting to all of you guys, but as far as updating the story goes, I still won't be able to update regularly because I still need to edit everything, write the rest, as well as dealing with life in general like work, family, and school.**

 **Now, onto the other 4 Acts, 2-5, without giving any spoilers, let me try to explain how things will work story-wise. Like I said earlier, there will be a major plot surrounding the relationships between the characters, and this story will not just be about the characters themselves, but as far as the actual plot itself goes, that won't come until Act 3, and even then, Act 3 is mostly just setting things up for things to actually take place in Act 4, and for Act 5 to finish things off. Keep in mind, Act 5 IS NOT AN EPILOGUE. The majority of the plot will be in Act 4, but when I say "Act 5 will finish things off," I mean that main RWBY canon will be almost entirely irrelevant. Sure, aspects of Volume 4 from the anime will no doubt influence how Act 5 will turn out, but essentially, that's all mine, and that will be where the title of this story will truly take place.**

 **The last thing I will say here is more specific- Act 1 is a prologue, Act 2 is character development, Act 3 is character interaction and plot set up, Act 4 is the climax, and Act 5 is a completely original story in the RWBY. For that to work, I will be adding many more OCs later on in this story that will all have extreme significance later on, some of whom won't even show up until much later, but trust me, you will know who they are when they arrive, and as far as those canonical retcons from last chapter that I mentioned, you won't really get much of that until Act 2. As far as Act 1 goes, I really just try to delve into the inner mentalities of certain characters. Act 2, however, actually STARTS with a retcon, but I assure you that it will BLOW YOUR FREAKING MINDS.**

 **That's all! Enjoy this latest update you fabulous monstrosities.**

 **Also, yes, this chapter is much longer than the last one. That'll happen occasionally.**

Chapter 2

"I can't believe my baby sister is starting at Beacon with me!" shouted the busty blonde girl in the middle of the jet carrier transporting the new first year students to the huntsman's academy.

"Yang, calm down," Ruby Rose pleaded with her sister, "I don't want to bring attention to myself. I skipped two whole years; I don't want people to think I'm special or anything."

"Come on, you beat an A-Class criminal, almost blew up a building, and got the headmaster's attention like it was nothing! Everyone's going to think you're the bee's knees!" The walking embodiment of flamboyance waved her arm towards the other people in the ship who all shifted under her gaze awkwardly. Everyone was already nervous, and she was admittedly making things worse.

"I don't want to be the bee's knees," the younger girl whined, "I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees." A taller boy came up next to the combat addict and scratched her head as if she was a small animal, and the way the girl leaned up into the contact with a euphoric smile growing on her face only added to the cute impression. It was a familiar motion as if the boy had done it hundreds of times, and judging by Ruby's reaction, the glazed over eyes and the drool starting to form on the very edge of her lips, it seemed to make her forget the previous conversation entirely.

"I don't think you have a choice, Ru," Grey said, smirking as his friend started kicking her leg with glee, "You definitely made an impression. Everyone's going to want to be your friend. Unless, you know, they start thinking you're a threat or a rival that needs to be taken down and they try to fight you 24/7." He smirked at the way the fear on her face grew for a moment and then quickly jumped over to her sister and hugged her tightly.

"But I don't want rivals! I just want to go to school and make friends and be nice to everyone and make everyone happy. Why did I have to get involved with those guys in the first place?" Yang held her younger sister close to her and glared at Grey with eyes as red as molten hot magma. Grey smiled cheekily and held up his hands in peace.

"Relax sunshine child," he reassured her, "I'm only joking. Most of these guys graduated Signal with me and Yang, and I can assure you they're all really nice. Sure, you might get the occasional snotty brat, or a complete nut job, but it's a school just like any other. And if anyone gives you any trouble…" To finish that statement, he shadow boxed the air for a bit, getting a few odd glances, but Ruby and Yang seemed to appreciate the brotherly gesture. Yang especially seemed to take interest in Grey's motions and jumped into the imaginary ring with him, taking her turn to throw a few mock punches at him, and he playfully fought back. Once they realized they were both boxers, they found themselves staring at each other with dangerous intent, smirks on both of their faces.

"Oh come on, guys," Ruby pleaded with them both, "Don't start anything on the ship." They glanced at her for a second, considering her words as a crowd started to gather and make bets, egging them on, and they really did seem as if they were going to start killing each other, Grey even going so far as to take off his armored jacket and showing off a set of muscles that got a few admiring glances. It wasn't the time or place, but they were staring each other like two dogs separated by a chain link fence. Just then, however, a hologram turned on by the front of the room. An image of Professor Goodwitch appeared.

"We will be arriving at Beacon Academy in three hours," she explained to those watching her, including the two former combatants whose challenging stares had become distracted, "You may move about the ship at your leisure. Please prepare everything you need before we arrive, and when we land, you will meet in the grand hall for a lecture given by the headmaster as he will explain how you will spend the next four years at the Academy. I look forward to working with each of you."

"Is it just me, or did that last part seem forced to you?" Grey asked Ruby and Yang, grabbing his jacket off the floor from the steel pauldrons. Yang jabbed two fingers into her new rival's spine but with a playful tone.

"Don't know, don't care," she said in his ear, "All I know is that eventually, we're going to throw down, and when we do, I'm gonna kill ya." She laughed and patted his butt, making him jump for a second. "Just kidding! But I do want to fight you. It's not very often I get to meet another pugilist." She winked at him, making him blush. He looked over at Ruby with a silent question if her sister was always like that, but she seemed too upset with their interaction to answer. She just glared at Yang with a pout.

"By Zeus's Beard!" Grey mused, getting distracted, "Look at that view!" Everyone in earshot decided to join him at the window, mumbling to themselves and each other in amazement at seeing the city they grew up in from so high up. Most of them had never even been in a jet before. Ruby even forgot her frustration with Yang for a moment and fawned over the incredible scene a mile below, beckoning Grey over to join her. Then, they heard Yang chuckle behind them.

"Guess the view isn't for everybody," she said disgustedly, pointing to a scraggly blonde guy with a few pieces of armor over his black hoodie who was running off to the bathroom, a hand over his mouth.

"Ew, Yang!" Ruby gasped, backing up and pointing at her sister's feet, "You have puke on your shoes!" Yang practically screamed and stripped her shoes off, running around, unsure what to do with them as she repeated the word "gross" over and over. "No! Get away from me! Don't touch me with that stuff! Stay away! It smells!" Grey shook his head at thepair of sisters. He had never been one to have a lot of friends, instead choosing to focus on his training with a few people he trusted so he could become a well rounded hunter, but if these two were the first real, true friends he was going to have, he was proud. He couldn't have asked for a better group.

The ship landed exactly three hours later, just like the students were told. They all filed off the carrier quickly after grabbing their luggage, and hoping to be the first in line for the lecture to be had in a few minutes. Grey took a moment after landing to take in his surroundings, noting grimly that the air smelled of soot and metal, most likely from the plethora of weapons that had just come in, but there was also the added tinge of sweat and anxiety from all of the fresh meat. Most people he saw looked nervous, as was to be expected. There were a few, however, that stuck out to him as either extremely confident or conspicuously arrogant, like a man covered in ornate but well made armor walking around as if he already owned the place. The only thing that struck Grey as odd was the amount of faunus in the area. He knew that being a hunter was most often a human profession, even though some faunus were known to join the mix, but what was strange to him was the mass of them that made up nearly the entire population of one of the lifts dropping off new students. Roughly a third of all first years had horns, antlers, or tails.

As Ruby admired the few weapons she could see, gun nut as she was, and as Yang scolded her for her appreciation of the artwork, Grey decided to see if he could place where these people had come from. He figured the first group was from Atlas judging on nothing more than the copious amounts of luggage, and even without that and the other obvious signs of wealth such as the army of servants and finely tailored suits, the pompous attitudes would've tipped him off to their northern roots. Then, came a group of rowdier boys and girls with daisy dukes and cargo shorts, unbuttoned shirts and crop tops, so he knew right away that they were from Vacuo; it wasn't really a suit and tie kind of place like the former. It was then he got a chill down his spine. Quickly, he looked around and saw Yang running off with a group of people whom he suspected were her friends from Signal.

"Dang," he admired with an undertone of a complaint, "She ran off quick. I take my eyes off of her for five seconds..."

"Wait!" Ruby called after her, "Where are our dorms? Are there dorms? Do we even have dorms? Ugh, what am I going to do?" She collapsed defeatedly, but found herself falling into a pile of stark white suitcases instead of the pavement. What followed next, Grey could only describe as hellish.

"What are you doing?!" Shouted a female voice from behind him. Both he and Ruby jumped and spun around to come face to face with a girl dressed in a combat skirt as white as snow, her hair the same color but with a bluish tint styled in a ponytail held together by a tiara. Her bolero jacket was accented by a chain around her neck as well as a crimson lining, and her boots were the kind of shoes that had a hidden wedge in the heel for a discrete bit of extra height. What really caught Grey's attention though, making his brow rise in admiration, was the pink scar over her left eye, her eyes themselves a bright and icy blue surrounded by deep black eyeliner and dimly tinted, red mascara. If she wasn't currently yelling at Ruby, Grey would have asked her out on a date right then and there. He was an incredibly protective person, often getting compared to a wolf, but even with Snow White's frustration with his friend, he still found himself admiring her beauty, and was imagining what a simple kiss from her would be like.

"Do you have any idea what kind of damage you could have caused?!" She continued to shout. "You could have completely destroyed half of the school!"

"I'm so sorry!" Ruby said hurriedly, "Please don't yell at me! It was an accident!"

"What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon? This isn't some kind of children's school. You shouldn't be here you complete dolt!" The girl leaned in threateningly, her hands on her hips, and her tone unrelenting. There were a lot of species in the animal kingdom that despised noise, and with the volume in her voice only rising, she could've wiped out an entire population. The impression she gave Grey was one of intensity, dangerous severity, and yet tactful grace. As she continued to berate the peons before her, she showed just what kind of intimidating of a presence she could be, showing her domineering form and aggressive temper.

"Hey!" Grey spoke up, finally managing to come back down to Remnant, "Watch it! It was an accident. Ruby isn't at fault here." The girl reared on him.

"Who are you? Her keeper?" She said with a malicious smirk and cruelly joking pitch, "Maybe you should do a better job at watching her so she doesn't get someone killed!" Miss Sass practically spat the last word, then crossed her arms and turned her head so she wouldn't have to look at the lowly peasants.

"I think maybe you should watch who you're talking to Princess," Grey growled at her, the corner of his lips and his eye twitching, the attraction to her from before completely removed, "You never know just who's crazy enough to break someone's neck when no one's looking." The one with the superiority complex sneered at him, and began waving a dropped bottle of dust in his and Ruby's faces.

"Excuse me?! Do you even know who you're speaking to?! Do you even know what this stuff could do to you in my hands?" To prove her point, she waved the bottle around even more. "Fire, ice, energy- It's all deadly when I use it! I train with it on a daily basis! I could destroy you!"

Ruby sneezed. It was definitely the fiery sprinkles that were floating in the air, courtesy of princess snooty pants, that caused the reaction from the younger girl, but what happened next was quite the scene. Grey wasn't sure how the exact science worked, but the violent sneeze from his friend's throat ignited the dust and created an explosion of flame and frost right in the middle of the courtyard, searing the ground around them. The three were silent for a moment. They might have coughed up a bit of soot, but for the most part, as far as they could see, they were OK, and that gave the brat more fuel for her tirade.

"This is exactly what I was talking about!" She screeched, stomping her foot as if she were squashing an ant, "You could've gotten us killed! Watch what you're doing you moron!"

"I said I was sorry, Princess!" Ruby snapped, stepping forward as if ready to fight. With both of the years of training that landed the two of them spots at the school, both of the girls' hands instinctively placed themselves on their weapons, one scythe and one unnecessarily fancy rapier. Grey rolled his eyes, knowing he might have to step in and stop them from killing each other, or worst case scenario, help Ruby throw down, but another voice came the side and interrupted them.

"It's heiress, actually," said a tall and slender figure in black clothing with bright yellow eyes, purple eye shadow, long black hair and a big black bow on her head. Either a living Dalt Wisney character or a cosplayer who had fully dedicated her life to the craft, Grey thought- no one dressed like that, but it suited her overall demeanor well. She walked with such a slender grace, her hips swinging with a natural charm that instinctively drew your eyes to them, similar to a feline. It was difficult to tell if it was forced or not, but she had the heel-toe catwalk that models on the runway practiced so he figured she must be putting some effort into her sultry strut.

"Finally some recognition," the princess adjacent smiled haughtily.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company," the goth girl noted with an utterly calm demeanor most people were incapable of keeping, the mentioned title making Weiss smile even more proudly then before, but what this girl said next was a huge blow to Weiss's ego, "Notable for their shady business partners and questionable practices." Weiss looked like she was about to snap. Her fingers clenched the hilt of the rapier at her hip with white knuckles, like she was just itching to draw and show these three a lesson, but decided against it and sorted her luggage back onto the pull cart Ruby knocked it off of.

"Fine," she chided, "Just stay out of my way." With that, Miss Schnee sauntered off in all her prideful glory. Ruby and Grey were silent for a bit.

"So…" Grey started, "She's cute. Think I have a shot with her?" He smirked at Ruby who looked up at him like she was personally offended.

"Dude," she replied slowly, "You could do so much better." Grey shrugged and looked off in the direction Weiss had left.

"I don't know, man. I kind of a thing for tsunderes." Ruby rolled her eyes and turned to the more somber girl.

"Thanks for your help, by the way…. Oh." She turned to look at the visitor, but the girl was already walking off. Ruby then took a deep breath and fell to her knees with a sad sigh. "I'm having a great first day." Grey patted her shoulder supportively.

"It'll get better. I promise."

"Hi," said someone behind them, "I'm Jaune." They turned to see vomit boy from the carrier, holding out his hand in friendship. Ruby and Grey smiled at each other and then at him, knowing they had just made a new friend.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled at her sister in her hurt tone, "You left me out in the courtyard and I exploded!" The girl with long and voluptuous blonde hair turned to see Ruby and Grey heading over to her, both with frustrated looks.

"Whoa," she said, looking at them with an amused smile, "Meltdown already?"

"No, she actually exploded," Grey explained, "There was a crater and everything. Some fire, maybe some ice in their too but I'm not sure." Ruby took over the explanation with a voice that made her seem close to tears.

"You left me and I was in the courtyard and I fell down onto this girl's luggage and I didn't know there would be explosives and she yelled at me so I apologized-"

"Uh… Ru?" Grey tried to grab her attention.

"But she kept yelling at me so Grey yelled at her and then I sneezed and then there was fire and she just kept yelling at me and I just wanted the yelling to stop-"

"You!" Shouted none other than Weiss Schnee whom Grey had seen sneaking up behind her. Ruby jumped into Grey's arms at the voice.

"Oh my god, it's happening again! Make it stop!" She yelled through a whine.

"You're lucky we weren't blown out of the country with a stunt like that! You have to be more careful if you're going to go to school here!" Weiss continued to yell.

"Oh my god, you actually exploded…" Yang realized in a shocked and disappointed tone. Grey tried to set Ruby down, but she was wrapped around him in the tightest vice grip that he wasn't able to get out of. At least she looked comfortable, though, so he allowed it. Weiss looked at the pair with a mix of superiority and disgust, but chose to ignore them and pulled a pamphlet out of her back pocket, shoving it in Ruby's face before proceeding to give an obviously rehearsed speech about Schnee Dust Company products and the user's responsibility for their own safety. The three then looked at her with confusion, so she summarized.

"Look, do you really want to make this up to me?" she asked, forcefully placing the brochure in Ruby's lap as she was still in Grey's bridal carry, and the girl nodded reassuringly. "Then read this, and never speak to me again."

"OK, ladies," Yang stepped in, attempting to calm the two down, "Looks like you guys just got off on the wrong foot. How about you start over?"

"Yeah! That's a good idea!" Ruby jumped out of Grey's arms, allowing the poor boy to stretch his sore shoulders, and held out her arm in friendship to her current enemy as a symbol of peace, "Hi Weiss, I'm Ruby. Do you want to hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies?" Weiss didn't waste any time in showing how sarcastic she could be, pouncing on the chance to make fun of the child.

"Of course!" She squeaked in a cheery voice, "And we can go to the mall! And paint our nails! And talk about cute boys like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there." Weiss pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Jaune. Poor guy looked up at the group with a hopeful expression, hearing only the last part. Grey grimaced at where that was potentially heading.

"Oh my gosh, really?!" Ruby cheered with her usual ecstatic grin. Weiss glared at her. It was a deep and icy glare into the center of Ruby's soul that said the only thing Weiss wanted to do, more than anything in the world, was to tell this idiot child just how foolish she was. Or stab her. Stabbing her would work. Instead, she held back, and even Grey and Yang shook their heads in their hands at the young girl's ignorance.

"No," she said harshly after a moment of grumpy silence.

"I'll make this brief," came a calm and warm voice over the speakers as a dapper gentleman spoke in the microphone on the stage. It was Ozpin.

"Holy crap, that voice…" Weiss said to herself.

"I know," Grey whispered in her ear, "It's like sweet buttermilk isn't it?" Weiss looked at him with an offended look like how dare you speak to me, but she let it slide because of the shared admiration of that auditory velvet.

"I kind of want to sleep on a bed made of that," she admitted.

"I think I'd prefer a pillow," Grey added, "You ever try a slumberpedic mattress? It's like melting into marshmallow. An Ozpin pillow along with that could make me sleep forever." Weiss nodded, the look in her eyes making it seem like she was filing that information away for later.

"Each of you has come here for a sole purpose," Ozpin continued, "To become hunters, protectors of the people. Every single one of you has trained most of your lives to become the best of the best in order to defend the peace our kingdoms work so hard to keep. It is my hope that your time at Beacon Academy will turn you into the young men and women you are destined to become." With that, he stepped away from the podium and his right hand woman, Professor Goodwitch came up to finish the address to the students. Grey and Ruby were only half listening though, only retaining the important details, as the way Ozpin had just behaved on the stand had seemed odd compared to what they had been exposed to just a day before. He seemed distracted. They let it slide, however, knowing that as the headmaster of the school and as a professional hunter himself, he had plenty of business that would keep his attention..

Hours went by. Yang, Ruby, and Grey went through the day taking in the new environment, going on tours led by unenthusiastic seniors just trying to get extra credit and having a messy lunch of self made tacos in the cafeteria. The most notable detail that stuck out to the three of them was the gym, being described as the one place where sparring was not only encouraged but required. It was a small coliseum with about four rows of seats surrounding the perimeter. The size alone was nothing much, being about twice the size of a professional boxing ring, but the modern style it had was a nice eye catcher, having monitors hanging up to monitor the fighters while also recording the bouts for later review for correction, sleek floors that could withstand even the most powerful of strikes, and a nearly transparent barrier around the ring to protect the audience from any stray bullets or a disarmed blades. Both of the women in his company gave Grey eager looks when they heard that they would be dueling other students. He just rolled his eyes at the two.

Speaking of the girls, Yang seemed to be attempting to steal his attention from Ruby any chance she could get. All Grey wanted to do was spend time with the kawaii bean child he had taken under his wing, finding a sense of comfort in her presence, but Yang was definitely a force to be reckoned with. She was strong for one, strong enough to pull him aside like a ragdoll no matter how hard he resisted, and she knew how to distract him in the same way most men can be, by using her low cut bustier to her advantage. It got him off his guard long enough for her to grab him. She made it no secret that she thought he was hot, and she was going to make sure he knew what she wanted from him. Much to her dismay, he wasn't having any of it. After a lot of under the table touching at dinner, he had to pull her aside to tell her what was up and put her in place. It wasn't that he didn't like her, he did, and she was definitely attractive, but he made it clear that he felt like dating his best friend's sister would be weird and wrong. She was surprisingly calm about it, admitting her failure with dignity, then honorably promising to just be friends with him.

Shortly after the twilight feast that would've made the halls of Valhalla jealous, everyone was told to get to bed. Instead of dorms, however, or even cots, the students had to stay in the grand hall in sleeping bags like orientation day was one big slumber party. Boys and girls were encouraged to stay on opposite sides of the room, but not required, and almost everyone quickly took advantage of the situation by taking a moment to talk to whomever they thought was cute. Not to mention that, true to their nature, a lot of the guys had to state their dominance by taking off their shirts, showing off their muscles, and even doing a few late night exercises to show just how strong they were and intimidate the competition. Most of the girls, Yang especially, enjoyed the eye candy. Although, Ruby was one of the black sheep who seemed put off by the situation, wasting no time in curling up in her sleeping bag to avoid being seen, but Grey was having none of that cowardice. She knew he was "allergic" to weak willed heroes.

"For friendship!" he proclaimed wildly as he ripped her from her safety bubble and pulled her over to the girl in the corner who was reading a book by candlelight, trying to fulfill their goal from that morning to meet new people. As luck would have it, it was none other than the girl from the courtyard. "What's up?" he asked her with a bright smile, embarrassing Ruby slightly but she was secretly flattered by the effort. The girl in the candlelight looked up from her book politely.

"Hi," she said curtly, then realized whom she was speaking to, "Aren't you the couple that blew up the courtyard?" Both of them blushed at the statement.

"Couple? No. He's like my brother. Who would want to kiss their brother right?" Ruby rushed to answer, not realizing how awkward she made the situation, then quickly changing the subject when it hit her, "I'm Ruby and this is Grey. But you can call me Crater Face… Nevermind. You can call me Ruby."

"Blake," the girl in black responded succinctly, trying to go back to her book.

"I like your bow…" Ruby said, nervously attempting to make small talk, Grey smiling wincingly at the effort, "And that's a cool looking book you're reading…"

"Thanks. It's a really good read," Blake was hoping the two would get the hint and move on, but they didn't. "Which I will continue to read." They continued to stand there. "As soon as you leave." Grey nodded disappointedly, being hurt by the rejection, but he understood her point of view and turned to walk off, but Ruby spoke up.

"What's it about?" She asked.

"What?" Blake stammered, actually setting the book down for a second.

"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby clarified.

"It's… it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control of his body." Blake wasn't sure how to react. She was used to being the only bookworm in the room, and in a room full of future elite soldiers, she was surprised that anyone would take an interest in her hobby.

"That sounds cool. I'd love to read it sometime. I love books. My big sister Yang used to read to me every night when I couldn't get to sleep. Tales of heroes and monsters… It's what made me want to become a huntress." Ruby detailed her past with stars in her eyes.

"Holy crap, that's adorable…" Grey said under his breath, hoping she wouldn't hear, but she did.

"Oh shush, who asked you?" Ruby giggled and shoved him playfully. Grey took his chance to grab her wrist and hip toss her onto the floor. He smirked at her wide eyes of betrayal. "What the heck was that? How did you learn how to do that?"

"Oh my god, you again?!" came a familiar shriek from the side, "People are trying to sleep!" The shoulders of the two playmates drooped dismally.

"Hello, Weiss," they groaned simultaneously. Weiss crossed her arms and put her bare feet together in a prim and proper manner. Grey reflected for a moment that her feet must be freezing on the cold wooden floor, but he figured that that probably wouldn't be true since her icy heart should've kept the rest of her body at a temperature much lower than the bare tiles, so the night air shouldn't have mattered much to her.

"Don't say my name like that. The members of the Schnee family are meant to be treated with respect and dignity at all times." Ruby and Grey shared a look, silently questioning themselves and each other if they were her servants and just didn't know it. Grey even motioned around his neck as if checking for a slave collar, making Ruby laugh for a quick second before being shut down by a glare from Weiss. It was weird though. The way Weiss had not only demanded their respect, but expected it as if she were truly royalty, made her seem delusional. Hopefully after getting beaten down a few times in gym class, she would learn that the real world didn't work that way outside of the manor house she had clearly never left before and she could join the rest of Beacon back in reality.

"Mkay…" Grey mumbled, then looked Weiss over with another of his trademark smirks, this one more flirty than the others, "Cute nightie. You look good with your hair down, too." The Schnee was taken aback by his boldness, but tried not to admit to herself that she was flattered as she tried to scrounge up a witty comeback.

"Thanks…" she said with a blush, unsure how else to respond and cursing herself for it, "Just- just stay out of my way, OK?" With that, the girl stormed off, Grey's eyes following her as his crush developed a bit more.

"So cute," he said to himself. Blake looked up at him over her book once more, this time with a dropped jaw of disbelief.

"You actually like her?" she asked incredulously, "Are you some kind of masochist?" He grumbled but didn't seem too offended by the remark.

"Sometimes…" he admitted. Blake stared up at him for a second with the level of judgement that only cats and disappointed soccer moms were capable of, then put down her book.

"That's enough crazy for tonight. I'm going to bed," she declared and curled up under her twelve blankets.

"Yeah, we should probably hit the sack, too. Night Ru," he said, scratching the girl's head affectionately. The motion always put her under a kind of blissful delirium and that's precisely how Ruby realized how tired she was. They filed into their sleeping bags next to one another and fell asleep as soon as Blake blew out her candelabra.

(_)

"So what's up with them?" Ruby asked Yang and Grey, gesturing to a boy and girl heading out of the door to the meeting area. The girl had a personality that was as vibrant as her neon pink skirt. She bounced from one corner of the room to the next, her freckled chipmunk cheeks pushed up in an ear splitting grin with naturally narrowed her eyes, and that made sure that people were watching her at all times. If they didn't they would lose sight of her quickly with that overdose of caffeine. Dealing with her was like seeing a spider in the shower. It's not that much of a problem seeing it, but when it disappears,that's when you start to panic. She had that kind of manic attitude that wanted you to keep all forms of sharp objects away from her at all times, or else something very bad would happen that would most likely end with an entire city being leveled. That was Nora Valkyrie.

Her boyfriend Lie Ren, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He was calm, cool, and collected. His hair was jet black and shaggy like a lion's mane, all except for one pink streak in his bangs that when asked about, Ren would say "Nora insisted." He moved with such elegant control and poise that Grey wasn't the only one who questioned if he was a ninja. He just had that air about him that intimated he could kill anyone in the room with a flick of his wrist, knowing exactly where and how to strike in order to collapse someone's most precious vital points.

Nora was naturally the first awake, as energetic as she was. She didn't waste any time waking Ren up that morning, which in turn, had caused everyone else to stir and look at the pair with pure hatred. It was obvious her boyfriend was embarrassed, but Nora didn't care. She just followed Ren everywhere he went, even into the boy's bathroom as he freshened himself up for the day. The two of them were getting the dirtiest looks from everyone. Grey was sure that Ren and Nora would inevitably have to fight off some bullies, but he could tell right off the bat that they were good guys and would help out if he had to. It was amazing how Ren was able to put up with the boundless energy of his girlfriend without lashing out at her. He was perfect for her. He had spent the whole morning listening to her ramble on about how they had been together, "But not together-together," for so long and how they were still together, "But not TOGETHER-together," and didn't say a single thing until Nora began coming up with potential distress signals to use to meet up during the opening exam. Even then, all he did was question the accuracy of the sounds she was making. Yang looked at them for a second, thinking about their situation before answering Ruby.

"I don't know," she mumbled, then looked at her sister polishing her scythe with a gentle tune being hummed behind her lips, "You seem chipper today."

"Of course I am!" she simpered joyously, hefting Crescent Rose, "Yesterday was such a downer because I'm horrible with people, but now I can let my baby do the talking." She glanced over at Grey, who was using a small tool to adjust the more minute parts of his gauntlets. "You ready for the test, Grey?" He turned to her with a determined look in his eyes, a look that was so dark that almost looked like it was full of anger and hatred, making both Ruby and Yang back up slightly in shock.

"I'm ready…" he said in a low growl, and that's when his friends realized just how intimidating he really was. However, they also learned just how quickly that version of him could change when he smirked at her. "Oh, and you don't need people to help you grow, huh?" Ruby crossed her arms proudly.

"That's right! I drink milk." She confirmed. In response, Grey stood up and placed his arm on top of her head, continuing to use the same tool from earlier on a collapsable piece of his left gauntlet under his wrist. A bit of silence went by, Ruby only looking more and more peeved, until she lost it and waved her arms wildly. "Alright! I get it! I'm short! You don't have to rub it in!"

"Honestly, the platform boots only draw attention to it, Raspberry Short Cake," he said curtly, pointing to her feet, "Cute shoes though. They go with the whole gothic lolita style."

While Yang and Ruby questioned his breaking-of-many-gender-roles knowledge of fashion terms, they almost had full blown aneurysms at the complete switch of his persona to a more childish one when he looked towards the other side of the hallway and his face lit up like the neon sign of a popular night club. "BABY COUSIN!" Blinking in confusion, they watched as he sprinted over to a girl with a long red ponytail in light golden armor, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake at his uncharacteristically blinding speed. He tackled this girl and lifted her up in a giant hug. It would have seemed rather cute if she had seen him charging at her, but by the way she flipped him over her shoulder and aimed her spear into his throat let everyone know that shouting his familial relationship with her to the heavens wasn't a good enough warning. It was odd that he didn't seem too perturbed by this. He grinned up at her like this happened hundreds of times before, like a usual greeting. "I see you've still got it!"

"I'm sorry!" she whined gently and helped him up laughing, pulling him into a hug, "It's good to see you Grey!"

"Good to see you too, Pyrrha," he laughed back at her, hugging her tightly. It wasn't too surprising to those who were aware of exactly who Pyrrha was when Weiss Schnee showed up, seemingly from the shadows, to jump in on their conversation.

"Oh!" she exclaimed coyly, heavily putting on the charm, "Hello, Grey. I didn't know you were friends with Pyrrha Nikos." Grey glanced at her with an uncomfortable smile. If he didn't already have some idea of Weiss's personality, the situation wouldn't have been so disconcerting for him, but the minute she used Pyrrha's full name like any of her fanatic stalkers did when referring to her, he could pick out what her intentions with his cousin were. He didn't like it.

"She's my baby cousin actually…" he explained, also trying to remember when he told Weiss his name, if he ever had, as well as trying to figure out how she could've learned it aside from Ruby or Yang.

"Oh, so you guys are family? That's really cool." The white haired girl smiled at them both, clearly attempting to resemble some forced version of charisma, but when Grey and Pyrrha glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes, they saw the shared creeped out expression on their faces. They recognized her as a fangirl hoping to attract her senpai. Pyrrha was almost praying that this girl wasn't like the last one she had to deal that broke into her hotel room to steal her hair. Being a celebrity that was famous enough to be on the face of a popular box of cereal and with multiple endorsements from other companies, she had quickly become used to dealing with many kinds of people, and Weiss seemed to be the of the more crazy variety. She seemed like the kind of person who wanted to get close to Pyrrha just to share the perks of her reputation, not as if she actually cared about Pyrrha as a person. Still, it was better than the others who borderline worshipped Pyrrha as a goddess, being placed on a pedestal so high that it separated her from reality. If Pyrrha was being honest, she hated both of them, but she was also too nice of a person to care. Almost the complete opposite of Grey, who crossed his arms and stood in front of his cousin protectively.

"So Pyrrha," said Weiss, ignoring the forthcoming threat, attempting to stand on her toes to look over his shoulder, "Have you given any thought to what team you'd like to be on?"

"I thought I would just let the cards fall where they may," she admitted, hoping to get out of the conversation as soon as possible, but still giving Weiss her full attention.

"Well, what about being on a team with me?" Weiss asked hopefully. Pyrrha tried to let her down gently.

"Perhaps, if things work out that way…"

Grey raised his eyebrow at his cousin and took the moment to get a better look at Weiss. She was gorgeous and that was undeniable, but just because someone is attractive, it doesn't make them a good person, or even likeable for that matter. What tipped Grey off to this girl's true nature was the smile she gave him. It was nothing but a smile of cold ambition and malice, throwing pleasantry to the wind so she could take advantage of whoever she needed to in order to get ahead. Granted, Grey had heard things about the infamous Schnee family. Not only was her father known beyond a shadow of a doubt to be a less than moral character, Grey knew how families of the upper crust tended to behave, turning up their noses at anyone they deemed lesser, and it was these two thoughts that made him pause. However, he didn't know Weiss's homelife, he didn't know how she was raised, and he really didn't know a single thing about her as a person other than that she gave a terrible first impression, so he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Also, he knew Pyrrha could handle herself. She was the Mighty Albatross, after all, as the local tabloids from their hometown had labeled her. It was only when Jaune came over that things seemed to get truly exciting.

"Hey there, Snow Angel," Jaune said to Weiss, laying on the flirtatious attitude very thickly, "I'm a natural blonde, you know. What do you say you and I team up? There are still a few spots open on Team Arc." Weiss understandably backed up uncomfortably, instinctively trying to get away from the overly forward casanova, but much to Grey's surprise, Pyrrha stepped in. Grey's amused smile slowly dropped again into the protective scowl from earlier. He was normally a very protective person, but that went doubly with Pyrrha.

"Hello!" she said with a bright smile.

"Oh, hey there, gorgeous. There's room for you too if you'd like to join in on the fun Plenty of me to go around." Jaune shot at her with a grin. Grey, on the other hand, facepalmed and chuckled at his friend's forwardness, belatedly realizing he wouldn't be any kind of problem, but Weiss immediately went into a protective friend mode over her favorite celebrity. Not that she had earned the right, of course.

"Don't you know who she is?" she asked disdainfully, "This is Pyrrha Nikos." Jaune managed to achieve the most dumbfounded look on his face but still maintained the flirtatious grin with his eyes keeping their stare into the world renown fighter's.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha said cheerily, expecting the storm of idolatry but expertly masking the discomfort.

"Never heard of her," he admitted quickly, and this caused both Grey and Pyrrha to glance at each other with a look of deep seated confusion on their faces but with an underlying tone of hope in their eyes, in contrast to Weiss's offended incredulity.

"She's won the Mistral Regional Tournaments three years in a row," Weiss spat venomously, trying to jog the guy's memory.

"Don't know what that is," Jaune sputtered, now feeling a bit insecure at his ignorance. Grey was watching Pyrrha carefully and could see the bashful smile on her face, signifying that she was actually flattered that this doof didn't know who she was, and he could tell what she was thinking. Actually, he was thinking the exact same thing. Weiss, on the other hand, was ignorant of their psychic conversation and angrily flailed her arms at her final attempt to get Jaune to realize just what a goddess of a high school student he was speaking to.

"She's on the cover of every box of Marshmallow Pete's Fluff Flakes!" Her face was red as the lobsters she must have had for every dinner back in the Schnee manor house. Jaune gasped loudly and immediately turned into a fanboy, fawning over Pyrrha like most people do when they meet her.

"That's you?!" he muttered amazedly, "But they only do that for famous celebrities and athletes!"

"Yeah, it really was an honor," Pyrrha said happily, for once having a genuine reaction to an excited stranger, making Grey smile to himself that she was happy, "Too bad the cereal isn't very good for you."

"Well then, beautiful," Jaune said, turning on his charm once again and ending his temporary fanboy episode, "How would you like to be on Team Arc? I'm sure I can find an open spot for you somewhere." Much to Grey's surprise and Weiss's chagrin, Pyrrha actually shot Jaune a kind smile and agreed.

"I'd like that Jaune," she said warmly. Grey couldn't hold back the cackle at how Pyrrha indirectly backstabbed Weiss.

"Wha… But…" Weiss sat there staring at the two with her mouth agape in shock, stuttering to herself to try to form a coherent thought, but Jaune got there first.

"So, Snow Angel," he said to her with a much more confidence than before, "Maybe I could find an open spot for you too if you'd like? Better act fast though because the team is filling up quickly." While the two of them had their battle of wits, or lack thereof, Grey pulled his cousin aside into a corner that was out of earshot from everyone else, and when he made sure no one was listening in, wiggled his eyebrows at the girl.

"So what was that, you little flirt?" He said teasingly. She blushed and broke eye contact with him.

"What are you talking about, Grey?" she tried to deflect, "Nothing happened. I just think he's… OK for a fanboy, is all." He crossed his arms and smirked at her, knowing his cousin all too well.

"You and I both know he's not a fanboy. You saw the way he switched gears once he was done worshipping your cereal achievement, which only lasted, what, all of five seconds?" Pyrrha, with her eyes still studying the tiles on the floor, couldn't force a small smile from appearing on her lips.

"I mean, he seems friendly…" she admitted quietly.

"And?" Grey pushed. Pyrrha crossed her arms and shot one of her rare glares at Grey, attempting to intimidate him but failing because she was far too sincere, and he also knew when she was faking it. His unimpressed look told her that.

"Fine. I think… All I know is that I like him. He's sweet, and he doesn't even know who I am. Do you know how much that means to me?" Grey smiled kindly and bumped his fist against her shoulder, seeing her attempting to cross a touching sentiment with a face of apathy.

"I can imagine. Sure, he's without a doubt the biggest derp here, and I honestly have no idea how he even made it into this school, but I think you two would definitely get along. See what you can do about that, K? A chance like this doesn't come along very often for you." He accented the last bit with a finger poking her chest. Pyrrha sighed at her cousin with a small smile, her best friend more accurately, and walked off, waving over her shoulder.

As Grey went back to Ruby and Yang, his darker warrior side had come back slowly, making ignore everything around him except the mission. It was part of his semblance, actually. Whenever he was in a general, every day mood where his defenses and adrenaline were shut down and relaxed, it was almost as if his ability to create barriers created a natural shield that kept darker emotion inside of him, but whenever he had to fight, or had an objective to complete, or even if his emotions got away from him, the shield would weaken. It would allow that darkness to escape from him. It was almost as if his semblance and aura were cages that kept the worst of beasts at bay. A beast that if it was ever let loose would destroy everything he cared about.

"I'm sorry!" He heard Pyrrha's signature apologetic tone come from where he left the other three hunters, and couldn't hold back the laugh when he saw her spear impaling the poor boy against a pillar by his hood. He couldn't help but wonder where that came from. She wasn't in anyway the type of girl who would show a boy she liked him- he assumed she wanted him -by being mean to him.

A few minutes later, the crew jumped on the shuttle that was to take everyone to the testing area, and helping Ruby into the jet, Grey caught the eyes of the few friends he had made since he had been at Beacon. Perhaps it was too soon to consider Jaune and Blake as friends, but there was no doubt in his mind that he cared about them in some way. It might not be as much as Rub, Pyrrha and Yang, but he was going to protect them with everything he had. However, this scared him. He didn't want to lose them. It was difficult to admit to himself, but he knew even subconsciously that he purposefully avoided getting close to people in case his beast took over and ended up hurting them. Rather, he didn't want to lose them and risk getting hurt himself because he acted hideously. He didn't want anything to happen to his new friends, especially Ruby whom he had taken a special liking to. He refused to admit to himself, as much as he wanted to close himself off to the rest of the world and avoid getting close to anyone, finding a friend in Ruby, even if it had only been a short time ago, was a pleasant feeling that he didn't want to lose. She was his friend and things were going to stay that way if he could help it.

About ten minutes went by until they touched down in a remote area just south of Vale. A few yards from a cliff just over the forest that lived up to its namesake, the lift let the students off, the pilot directing them to the teachers that stood closer to the drop off who then directed the students to stand on individual platforms parallel to the drop. Grey stood in between Ruby and Jaune, second from the end, and examined the steel square he found himself on. Lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet, he could feel the way the vibrations moved through the metal and got the faint idea that it felt like a catapult, feeling it press downward when the weight hit the back end, and if it was what he thought it was, he wasn't too fond of how he thought the test was going to begin. Worriedly, he only half listened to Ozpin and Glynda's explanation about the test, only getting the important bits about finding a relic and becoming partners with the first person he made eye contact with when he landed. Something odd caught his eye, though, and he couldn't avoid bringing it up.

"Sir," he said, getting Ozpin's attention as members of the test group started being launched one by one from the opposite end, "There's an odd number of us. What if one of us doesn't end up getting a partner?" In response, Ozpin shot Grey a smirk and knowingly pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, while Glynda focused on Jaune's anxiety.

"That is a problem, isn't it?" he said suspiciously, "We'll just have to see where things lead."

 _Oh, sure, that doesn't sound like at least one of us is going to die or anything,_ Grey thought to himself, then took a deep breath and switched to a loose stance just before the platform launched him over the cliff.

 **Oh, I'm sorry, did I forget to mention that Pyrrha and Grey were cousins? Yeah, that's important. Remember that one. The knowledge will come in handy later.**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N) So you all are going to hate me… Well, not really. Maybe a little bit? OK, so this is more of a minor inconvenience at worst, just promise you won't lynch me, K? You guys remember how I said that I had most of the story already written? That's still true, but the plans I previously had for the story didn't necessarily plan out the way I hoped, and left too many plot holes that I kind of wanted to avoid. Beforehand, the plan was to skip ahead in time a volume and a half, and pretty much start Team RWBY and the others in their second semester at Beacon Academy, but I realized this was… stupid. The overall theme of each act is still going to line up the same, but how I plan to reach those outcomes will be much different, and I can assure you that they will be much better. I might upload what a major failure the original chapters were at some point in the future and let you guys pick out which versions of the story you like better, but once act 1 is finished, this story is going to take a much different turn than what I had planned previously, and is going to have an actual plot. Before my edits, the entire second act was literally just an exposition dump. It would have been the proverbial graveyard for this story if I didn't give it some upgrades and a major rewrite. Once again, I promise you'll like the edits of act 2 and 3 much better than their predecessors, but as far as act 1 goes, here's the latest installment in all of its originally pristine and unedited glory.**

 **Enjoy you beautiful hunters!**

Chapter 3

This was exactly the situation Grey had modified Animus and Albatross for. He usually followed the rule that the less he was armed, the better he was off depending on the situation, a basic less is more mentality, and the enhanced strength the bionic weapons gave him was made useless if they were too heavily equipped. He only armed his bracers with what he thought would be appropriate to the next battle, and the entry exam was no exception. Fortunately, he had planned for an impromptu catapult launch, and smirked with cocky vigor as the wind buffeted his hair, casually enjoying the breeze and the thrill of the free fall. As he flew through the atmosphere above the Emerald Forest, losing sight of his future classmates, he took stock of the canopy below him. Per Ozpin's suggestion, he made a landing strategy and calculated the fall. Just as he breached the leaves, he extended his right arm, and out of the metal, in place of the caestus that usually held its claim there, shot a three pronged claw with hooks on the end of each blade digging its way into the bark of a thick branch, allowing him to swing forward and land on another solid one. Using the momentum of his launch, he jumped off of the second branch and around the tree ahead of him. With that kind of angle, he wrapped his claw around the trunk, swung around, then the gravity dropped him heavily to the ground, the shredded bark smacking him during the descent.

 _OK,_ he thought to himself, taking stock of the situation and rubbing his scraped cheek, _first thing I need to do is find a partner. That's the priority._ He remembered from the orientation that this forest was filled with grimm and if he didn't move soon, he would become a beowulf's lunch, but he decided to take a risk and stop a moment to listen closely to his surroundings. He was trained to learn, to observe, and after years of building up the skill, a little focus went a long way to seeing everything, granting him the title of Omniscient at Signal Academy. When he paid attention, he noticed everything from the brush of the wind against the leaves to the pulse of the forest's energy underneath his feet. Clearing his mind of everything except his sole intent on finding his comrades, he set his sights on any auras close to him, and he found himself noticing more than one, finding at least three in the immediate area and a few more a further distance away from him. Just then, he heard a chunk of steel on bark, Jaune shouting "thank you" and Pyrrha's voice from a closer distance responding with an apology. Grey decided to leave them alone, a coy grin playing at his lips. Mentally, he patted himself on the back for being a good cousin, and honed in on the only other auras close to him, a friendly red one, Ruby, and a white one with something to prove that could only be Weiss. With any luck, he would be able to create a threesome.

 _Dude,_ he admonished himself at the vulgar language. Without a moment's hesitation, he dashed in their direction, knowing that they were his only hope since there was no one else close enough to partner with. The forest seemed too peaceful, though, for a test of survival. The trees, although healthy, were spaced apart at wide intervals, so much so that there were large patches of sky high above him uninhibited by the leaves. There were clear trails set throughout the woods instead of the forest being so thick and treacherous that taking five steps would end up in a traveler losing their way. Petals of all shades of pink and gold fell to the ground as opposed to the giant spider webs, discarded bones and marshy wetlands of a darkwood; that's where grimm would normally be. It was almost like the grimm were air dropped here by the international military. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts, fortunately, by the sight of something that at least made a little sense. In the middle of one of the larger clearings in the forest were Weiss and Ruby arguing with one another, surrounded by a group of beowolves that the pair seemed completely oblivious to as their argument drowned out the predatious intent. He didn't know what the argument was about, nor did he want to know. He needed to bring them back down to Remnant.

"Ladies, you're both beautiful," he chided them, being intentionally chauvinistic to get their attention, punching a beowulf into a tree before it could devour them, "Now if you could please focus long enough to not die, that'd be great. OK? OK." He left no room for argument as he fired a pair of missiles in between them to collide with another beowulf that had taken his arrival as an opening to pounce.

"Right," Ruby acknowledged, readying her scythe, "Kill things now, argue later." She was about to charge the leader of the pack, but a flaming tree fell in front of her path before she got the chance. Grey was so distracted at finding his friends and saving their lives that he didn't realize the trail of flame leading to a forest fire that was quickly spreading. Weiss took the reins then.

"We need to move!" she said, grabbing Ruby's hood and pulling her away, "If we get caught in the fire, we'll never make it out of the woods, let alone pass the opening exam, and it'll be all your fault!" Grey raised his eyebrow at her accusation but chose to ignore it, unlike Ruby who twisted out of her hold and reared on her.

"My fault?!" she shouted with an angry look that went against her innocent and cute personality, shooting a thumb over her shoulder, "You're the one who blew up that tree!"

"Oh for the sake of the godly invention of bacon," Grey said to himself, regretting skipping breakfast, "I need to save their bacon." With an irritated vein bulging against his forehead, more from the joke than his new babysitting job, he grabbed both of the girls by their collars and sprinted out of the clearing and into the brush, shielding them from the flame with his semblance. "I've been with you guys for a total of fifteen seconds and you're already pissing me off! Shut up and focus on the mission. You guys can rip off each other's eyebrows at the initiation ceremony later today, but we have to actually make it to the ceremony first!" Ruby was happy to comply, knowing better than to argue with someone like Grey and knowing that he was right, but Weiss was less convinced.

"What are you doing?!" Weiss shouted at him, digging her finely manicured nails into Grey's hand wrapped around her collar, "Let me go!" Grey had already let Ruby run on her own, so why not her?

"Not yet, Schnee!" He commanded, making her scoff.

"How dare you! Take that!" Grey caught it out of the corner of his eye when she draw her rapier, Myrtenaster, and tried to stab it in his back, but one thing she didn't account for was that Grey was a fist fighter, that even if his opponent had a weapon and he didn't, he still had the advantage, and the minute she tried to thrust her blade into his spine, he twisted his grip on her, flipped her hand over, disarmed her weapon and even went so far as to pin her against a tree with the metal against her throat. They stood there in silence for a moment. Weiss could see in his eyes that he didn't want to kill her, that this was an empty threat, but it was too hard to call him on it with edged metal threatening to slice her throat open. Grey, though, wasn't threatening her. He wasn't even bluffing. Instead, he just needed to get her into a position to where her guard was down for only a split second so he could slap her across her face. Weiss's eyes went wide in shock.

"Ow… Ow!" she complained, the bewilderment quickly being replaced by anger, "What was that for?!" Ruby jumped down from the tree to join the two, laughing under her breath but not quietly enough for the pair not to hear, and Grey crossed his arms at the heiress, glaring at her stiffly.

"Like I said, you can argue later," he explained, "I just need to make one thing clear to you. We're in a hostile environment filled with things trying to kill us, and if all you're going to do is blow things up and get mad at everyone else for not doing what you say, then you're just going to slow us down, and probably get us killed. The three of us are a team now, and that means we have to work together to complete the objective, and that means not arguing with your teammates in the middle of a battle. Pay attention, and try to survive. _Got it, Your Majesty?_ " He emphasised the nickname with a heavily exaggerated bow, full of facetiousness. Weiss was put into a reluctant silence, knowing full well he was right, but not wanting to admit it because that would show him enough weakness that he would take over and he would become the leader. She couldn't allow that. How to respond, though?

"I…" Weiss started, unsure how to respond to someone standing up to her so fiendishly. Didn't he know who she was? He stared at her expectantly, waiting for an answer. "I'm sorry…" She figured that playing nice and stringing him along would do the trick. She wouldn't defer to him by admitting she was wrong, but making him think that she wanted to work together as a team was a surefire way to make him let his guard down long enough for her to take control of the team out from under him.

"Good," he spat, then started walking down the nearest trail, "Let's get going. If we meet up with another group, we'll be more likely to find the forest shrine." Weiss dropped to her knees. That situation was… intense. It made her heart pound in such a powerful way that terrified, not because Grey was an imposing figure, which he was, but because… she liked it. That kind of fear wasn't bad so much as it was exhilarating.

Jumping on the tree branch Weiss was on, Ruby smiled awkwardly at her and helped her to her feet. Weiss returned the smile, feigning kindness, knowing that she would give Ruby what was coming to her later down the line, but then Grey called back to them over his shoulder, "And Weiss, if you think about betraying us… Well, how about you don't, OK? Even I don't want to find out what would happen if you do."

Weiss screamed internally, her jaw dropping in absolute horror at that last line. The threat itself wasn't all that great, but the reason behind it made Weiss panic. _How does he know?! There's no way he could tell what I was planning, could he?!_

"Sorry about that, Ice Queen…" Ruby whimpered, still reeling from that exchange herself, "I've never seen him get like that…"

"It's…" Weiss said quietly, "It's OK." She watched Grey walk away from the two of them, unsure of the emotions that were running through her mind. Fear was somehow good? Deferring to someone instead of taking her rightful place as their superior? Weiss had been prepared to order around whatever teammate she acquired, but then Grey showed up and takes the lead away from her. He just treats her as if she were some kind of speck on the windshield of his car that he could just wipe off with a press of a button, that she was just another bratty girl instead of a Schnee heiress. This hatred he had for her made her angry. He needed to know his place, and she would do whatever it took to make that happen. Watching him walk away with an air of uncaring, unwavering confidence, she could feel herself being drawn towards him, feeling the most primal urge in her body to tackle him and just… do what? Kill him? No, that didn't seem right. It was like all she wanted was physical contact with him. What could that mean...? Either way, Weiss knew that the only way this would make sense would be to follow and try to figure him out, and perhaps to try to make him see her as an equal if nothing else. Twisting her legs to get rid of an uncomfortable warmth at her center as she watched him walk away, trying to sort these new feelings out, feelings that admittedly scared and confused her, she turned to Ruby to acknowledge something she said previously. "Ice Queen?"

Ruby just smiled and used her semblance to catch up to Grey, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her. Weiss rolled her eyes and jogged to catch up. They walked in silence for the majority of the path, avoiding making eye contact with one another, the sounds of the forest an agonizingly brutal ambience. Every sound, every crunch of leaves or snap of a twig, dug into their minds, creating more tension, making the repressed anger from earlier spike in their minds. The group desperately wanted to say something, to talk or to sing, just to bring an end to the madness, but no one was willing to break the silence for fear of sparking another argument. Grey kept his eyes on the path, occasionally glancing into the brush for any enemies, while Weiss made it a conscious effort to stay behind him, glaring her snowy crystalline eyes deep into his back. Her fingers danced along her rapier's hilt. She was itching for a fight after the rude way he had treated her when running from the beowolves, and as easy as it would have been to stab him in the back, she knew that a maneuver would be more trouble than it was worth. A criminal Schnee? Not a scandal she wanted to cause. Plus, his presence still benefitted her, even if only slightly. Getting rid of a useful tool before it expired went against all forms of common sense. For now, she just had to keep her eyes on him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Not that she thought he was going to attack her after he got his point across, but still, with such a demoralizing beginning to their partnership, she wanted to make sure she always had him in her sights in case he thought it would be funny to pull a prank on her… or something. Shaking her head, she tried not to think about it. Further still, she tried to avoid giving into that unfamiliar desire to touch him, to press her body against his with an unclear purpose, because she was unwilling to see precisely where that action would lead. She wanted to hold him. Why? What benefit would that bring her, and even then, she felt that giving into that urge would only spark even more foreign emotions that she just wasn't prepared to deal with. She just to focus on the test and try to figure this out later.

Ruby was actually avoiding Grey's eyes for a different reason. She was jealous. She knew she was jealous, and she wasn't happy about it either. She also knew that if she got a glimpse at Grey's face, that stupid, careless and utterly oblivious smile of his, she would lose it. He had a weird effect on her that made her lose certain inhibitions. If she caught his eye, she wasn't sure if she could deny her instincts, and would probably end up trying to make a move on him, or hopefully just return to her battle with Weiss out of some misguided sense of territorial defense. He was hers. Grey was her best friend and no one else's, so in her jealousy, Ruby wanted to send a message.

After months of being in his shadow, admiring him from afar like some kind of shy fangirl back at Signal, she learned how to read him like a book. She was confident that there was nothing in the world that he could hide from her, and that's why whenever he looked at Weiss, Ruby was filled with a jealous rage. Did he want her? Did he just want to give her a chance to prove herself? Why? Ruby thought that with how smug Weiss was, Grey wouldn't want to have anything to do with her, but when he looked at her, there was a trace of fascination in his eyes, scanning her up and down, and Ruby could only imagine what that look in his eyes spoke of. Still, why would he even bother giving her his attention in the first place? She was an elitist rich girl who looked down on every other person in the room as if she was their default superior, and Grey had expressed before how much disdain he had for those kinds of people. It made no sense for him to change that belief just because of a pretty face. He was too genuine to go back on his word. Right?

Come to think of it, why did Ruby even care? Grey was his own person and could do what he pleased with whomever he wanted to, and Ruby had accepted that before in the past when he didn't even know she existed, but as soon as Weiss appeared in their lives, that's when she started to become possessive over Grey? No, that wasn't right. It was because Grey didn't deserve someone like Weiss, who would only use him and abuse him, and Ruby was trying to protect him. Weiss didn't give off a good vibe, and Ruby wasn't going to let Grey anywhere near her.

Ruby saw Weiss as a rival, and that wasn't going to change any time soon.

"It's this way…" Weiss said, walking down one path in the fork in the road, "No, it's this way." This time, she turned around and walked down a different path. "No… Maybe it's… That's it. We passed it." Weiss crossed her arms and balanced one foot on her toes in a casually adorable stance and stared up at the sign pointing down the different routes, the letters on them having worn away from time. Ruby and Grey were sitting criss cross on the side of the road, snacking on some of the naturally grown foods they had found in the forest, only glancing up when Weiss made her decision on their location.

"Why won't you admit we're lost?" Ruby said exasperatedly.

"We're not lost, Ruby," Grey said with a comforting smile, his darker side subdued for the moment, "We're scouting the area. You can't be lost when you have no idea what you're looking for." Weiss scoffed without turning around and spoke to herself but still loudly enough for the other two to hear.

"Ugh, why would Ozpin send us on a blind goose chase? Does he even know what he's doing?." she groaned. Grey blinked at the venomous tone.

"Dang, girl…" he muttered.

"Maybe I can climb a tree and get a layout of the area?" Ruby offered hopefully, "Maybe we're close to the shrine or maybe some of the others are nearby?" Ruby's interjection was obviously a risk given her previous conflicts with Weiss, so Grey immediately jumped in.

"I feel like some of the other groups may have already gotten to the rendezvous point," Grey questioned, "So that might be a good idea. We probably got off the main path after the thing with the beowolves, but chances are the shrine is connected to one of those side paths overgrown with brush, or worst case scenario, it's not on any trail and is just in a random ruin that Ozpin is generously labeling a shrine. Give it a try, Ru." Grey grinned cheekily. "You're bound to find your sister's hair at least!" Ruby was slowly getting to her feet when Weiss turned on the pair again, snapping at her younger counterpart for what marked the thirteenth time in the past hour.

"It's your fault we're in this mess in the first place!" she screamed, "If you hadn't redirected my dust when I was fighting the grimm, I could've beaten them easily and stayed on the direct route. I could see it when we were executing our landing strategies and had a path all planned out but then you had to mess it up with your fumbling!"

"How is that my fault, Ice Queen?!" Ruby shot, pointing at Weiss accusatorily, "You haven't contributed anything to our group since we formed! The only thing you've actually done is set the forest on fire which was a stupid move using that kind of dust anyway! You're not free from blame, Princess!"

Grey decided to chew on one of the roots he had collected and watch as they got this crap out of their system. His thoughts when they first formed the team hadn't changed, but whether it be for better or worse, this fight needed to happen so they could get it out of their system, and trying to prevent this earlier was only belabouring the conflict. They were being so negative towards each other and that wasn't healthy for either of them, but at the same time, he knew that once they got all of this hatred they had for one another out of their hearts, it would hopefully leave enough space left open for a friendship to take over, or at least some kind of uneasy peace that could be nurtured over time. Sure, Weiss had been complying with Grey's wishes of working together, but she did so bitterly, and that wasn't good enough, and her bitterness had to be devoured for the sake of the team. Ruby, on the hand, needed to relax. If she was going to snap at Weiss every time Weiss said something negative, it would have the same effect as the heiress's bad attitude. The first step, though, was tiring both girls out. If they could release any and all negative feelings they had towards one another, maybe they could focus their energy on something productive like completing the test.

Or maybe it was that Grey was just tired of trying to keep them from killing each other. That worked too.

Grey wasn't about to break up their argument, but after about ten minutes of yelling, he was starting to get worried. Grimm were attracted to negative emotions and major conflict like this, and if this kept up, they were bound to attract every deadly beast in the immediate area. Grey thought about stopping them, but decided against it. It was more important for them to get along well as a team than anything, so he simply decided to leave them for a short time while he scouted the area for any upcoming ambushes. Standing up, he wiggled his fingers, measuring his aura. Then, Ruby exploded.

"Shut up, already! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You're not perfect, Weiss!" she screamed, throwing her arms violently, hopping in place as a means to deal with her climax of wrath. Weiss was unaffected by Ruby's anger, sadly. Instead, she knew this was her chance to win their fight, to destroy her, and all it would take was one deep cut into the younger girl's shell.

"Maybe not," she said coolly, "But I'm still leagues better than you." With that, she sauntered off down the path that she suddenly decided the group must follow. Grey was surprised. Mostly, he was surprised at the outburst from Ruby and the rage behind it coming from such a plushy personality, but more importantly, the underlying pain in the tone of the tantrum. He had come to expect Weiss to be a bully, but Ruby was legitimately hurt.

"You don't even know me…" she said to herself in almost a whisper, unaware that Grey was in earshot. She was close to tears. Grey hadn't known her long, at least not personally, and didn't know her life before he was involved in it nor her inner workings and what made her tick, but he knew what to do with her at that moment. The girl adored physical contact, craved it even. With a scowl, he wrapped one arm loosely around her shoulders and pulled her close, glaring daggers at Weiss's back in the most protective manner she had seen from him. Perhaps even deadly. Ruby was surprised at the sudden show of affection, looking up at him for a second, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, and she leaned into him with pure acceptance, burying her head into the space under his chin for the briefest second before breaking apart and following her rival. "Thanks for that, Grey," she said smiling over her shoulder. He sighed heavily, then followed.

Grey decided to set the arbitration between the opposing forces aside for now. That clearly was a mistake a second ago, so now, he just needed to focus on survival. He decided to use his observation skills and his ability to sense auras to scout the area while Ruby enacted her previous idea of getting a bird's eye view of the surrounding area, clearly not wanting to be around Weiss, and jumping to the farthest height of the canopy she could. Grey decided to gain some height as well, using the gravity to better his aura sense of the surrounding area. For some reason, gravity played a strong role in the distance and clarity of how one could pick out an enemy's presence, so the mid level branches were the best spot for this while Ruby used her sniper to scout further ahead. Grey picked out the enemies, and Ruby found the path. As for Weiss, she was a kind of sacrificial pawn, but it was a form of silent communication between the three that told her teammates this. She knew that being out in the open was the worst spot to be for a recon mission, but with everyone working together in tandem like this, using their instincts and subconscious minds to act on their behalves, maybe they could work as a team?

Grey's eyes were closed when he sensed aura if he could help it. He couldn't really see anything with his eyes closed except for a vague silhouette of a person's natural energy field, but this also allowed him to feel vibrations in the air to avoid running into something like trees. Sadly, due to the gravity effect, he was caught off guard by a red shade jumping next to him and sinking the tree branch. As a natural reaction, he slashed out, extending his blade, but he was too slow as his arms were pinned behind him and a pair of soft, warm lips pressed against his, and if they were trying to stun him… that sure did the trick. His arms went completely slack and he tried to force his eyes open with some effort after having been closed for awhile, but the real issue was what he saw when he came to. Ruby was just pulling back from the kiss, her eyes fluttering open dreamily.

"Um… Ru?" he whimpered, just about to panic, "What was-" she silenced him again, this time with the hand not gripping Crescent Rose, and she pointed upwards, a rare serious look appearing on her face when she composed herself. Looking at her in confusion for a second, then taking a moment to glance at Weiss to make sure she was still in sight, an observation practice to make sure he could take his eyes off of her for just a second, he looked up to where she was pointing and almost wet himself. His mouth gaped in another whimper, a serious one, straining to keep from screaming an expletive at their misfortune.

"A Giant Nevermore," Ruby whispered, "We need to let Weiss know, and don't worry- I have a plan." She ungagged Grey when he nodded.

"Your scouting plan clearly worked out," he whispered back to her, referencing the discovery of the beast above them, "So I'll trust you on this one. I'm just pretty sure I'm going to hate whatever you come up with." Ruby shot him a psychotic smirk, he grinned at her, she winked at him, and then she jumped off the branch. Grey, feeling violated by the sheer adorableness of that look but surprisingly not the kiss a second ago- clearly she only did it to prevent him from killing her -followed suit.

 _Ohmygosh what did I just do?!_ Ruby thought to herself, feeling the blazing fire of embarrassment growing in her chest, _Nononononononononono. I kissed him? During the exam?! There are probably cameras everywhere that are recording this so they can show it as a highlight reel at the graduation ceremony! I'm an idiot… No, it had to be done. He was going to kill me otherwise, so I needed to calm him down and that was the only way to do it, right? Everyone's going to understand that, right? Right? Oh God, Yang is going to flip when she finds out!_

When they hit the ground, Grey and Ruby pulled Weiss into the bushes as secretively as they could. She followed the pair without question, but not after a brief and fierce struggle, ending with a bashful look of apology to Grey's new black eye, then settling into another silence as they waited for the grimm to pass. The only problem...

"Have you guys noticed that thing is circling us?" Weiss asked, looking up into the sky trepidatiously after a few minutes. Grey nodded, the dark look on his face coming back as his mental barrier started to loosen up again, but fortunately, Ruby took charge of the situation. She said she had a plan, right? Looks like she was ready.

"Trust me Weiss!" Neither the Schnee nor Grey had time to question what she meant by that when Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and lifted the other girl up by her collar, sticking the blade underneath it and then using her rifle as leverage to throw her into the sky. Ruby might have done that as a small form of revenge, but it worked. Grey gave the younger girl a dirty look, telling her that this would only make Weiss hate her more, but Ruby only responded by shooting him a half-apologetic grin, and shooting the ground beneath her feet a few times to get up to Weiss's altitude.

"This child…" Grey pondered, "Is an absolute genius. Either that, or she's going to get me killed." Shaking his head, smiling proudly and bemusedly, he chose to sprint along the forest floor with his shields giving him an extra boost, trying to keep up. He could've joined them up there with his semblance, but… no.

"How could you think this was a good idea?!" Weiss shouted at her as the Nevermore started flailing frantically. Ruby had picked just the right moment and angle to slingshot herself and Weiss to the nevermore so they could catch its talons and catch a ride, but with how small the forest can be when flying in the air, there was no telling how this plan could end up. Best case scenario, Ruby was just trying to prove a point.

"It's the best and only plan we've got!" Ruby responded, "So suck it up, buttercup!" Grey thought he could Ruby's plan. From that height, they could see miles in any direction, and even if the bird didn't take them directly to the shrine, jumping off an using an improvised landing strategy could land them directly in the center of it. Come to think of it, were either of them even aware of what the shrine looked like? Still, using a giant nevermore as a personal taxi service was without a doubt the mark of a truly criminal genius.

"Only you could come up with something this crazy!" Weiss shouted at her younger counterpart. Ruby ignored the girl because she could see Yang's bright blonde hair reflecting the noonday sunlight, remembering Grey's earlier joke, and decided to enact the second part of her master suicide- er… plan. Master plan.

"Fine then! Why don't we just jump?!" Ruby's had to scream over the noise to be heard, but her voice carried a slightly playful tone.

"Jump? Are you nuts?" she demanded an answer, but Ruby was already gone, "How could you leave me?!"

Ruby had already drawn Crescent Rose again to perform her landing strategy, and as she got closer to the ground, she could see Yang and the girl from the night before, Blake, waiting for her and trying to direct a proper path to the ground. It was pointless, though, as Grey had already used a shield to propel himself upwards. It wasn't easy, timing the jump and aiming it to intersect with Ruby's descent, but the yelp and her nails digging into his back were all worth it, making him smile as he used another shield to slow their fall. When he set her down, they heard the nevermore shriek from above. It was probably tired of having a pair of unwanted passengers hanging off its feet, but losing one made it gain the confidence to shake itself violently and try to throw Weiss off.

"I told her to jump," Ruby said somberly, but her eyes showed that she wasn't too upset to see her rival in this situation.

"She's going to fall," Yang decided.

"She'll be fine," Ruby affirmed.

"She's falling," Blake observed.

Grey rolled his eyes and decided to take a leisurely stroll. The girl may have been a total pain, he's least favorite type of person in fact, but he wasn't about to let her get hurt from a fall like that one. Weiss lost her grip, though, before Grey could find the right spot to catch her. Grey started jogging to get to her in time, but one thing he didn't count on was seeing Jaune, the lovestruck idiot, jumping out of the tree to try to save the rich girl, and yet, despite his best efforts and intentions, he missed her entirely. He just jumped right past her. Grey ignored him, though. Knowing Jaune, some kind of act of God would work out to save him, and while he was falling, Grey looked up, followed Weiss's trail, and held out his hands. A brief pause and a side pout of impatience later, Weiss landed into his arms with a thump, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly out of reflex, eyes tightly shut, but he still gave her the cheekiest of grins.

"Really? I have to save you again? I hope I can get paid for babysitting you," he teased. Weiss looked up at him with a blush growing on her cheeks, pink enough to almost completely cover the scar on her eye, and she found herself hearing a single word cross her mind. With the sun shining against him, surrounding him in a heavenly glow as she looked up at him in awe, this word was the only one that could describe him for her. It was something she had heard her brother Whitley use a few times when playing video games or watching anime, especially when talking about how one character felt about another.

"Senpai," she muttered under her breath. She finally understanding what in the actual hell was going on with her, the desire to be close to him finally making sense when he wrapped his arms around her. Were those bells she heard?

"What was that?" Grey asked, tilting his head to hear her better. She blushed even harder and panickedly jumped out of his arms, straightening out her skirt, grabbing Myrtenaster, then giving Grey a stern look and running off. "Fine, don't give me an answer," Grey grumbled. _Seriously. What did she say? I couldn't hear anything with Pyrrha fighting that Deathstalker over there._ Grey glanced over to where his cousin was fighting for her life, seeing her struggle against one of the more dangerous grimm known to exist, and figured he should probably go help her. After a moment's of debate, though, he thought, _nah, she's fine,_ and joined Weiss and Ruby at the ruins.

Calling this a shrine was generous. It was little more than golden and black chess pieces sat upon evenly placed pedestals, yet without a second thought, Ruby and Weiss grabbed a pair of knights with a bright golden hue, finally behaving as partners for once. However, Grey bit his lip. Something was wrong. Each major chess piece had four versions, two white and two back, but that caused a major problem for him. Every single piece had already been taken, including the other knights. Not to mention, with a giant nevermore and a death stalker currently trying to kill them, he had a pretty clear time limit to try to find a solution to this problem, and began sifting around for another piece. Things were about to go nuts and he had to be ready when it did.

"Ruby!" he heard Yang shout in panic. He looked over his shoulder to see his friend charging the scorpion with her scythe drawn and ready to make impact. She charged with her Speed, fired off a round to boost herself forward even faster, and Grey cursed himself for moving his attention to something else for even a second because this was going to get her killed. Did he have to babysit her?! Grey's body took over and pushed him towards the scene, forgetting about finding a chess piece. She was more important, but even with his telekinetic wall boosting him, he was still too slow, being too tired from trying to keep up with the nevermore from before, so all he could do was watch in horror as the grimm smacked her aside with its claw. She stumbled onto her back. Grey pushed himself even faster since Crescent Rose fell out of her grasp. She was now an unarmed sitting duck, at the mercy of the grimm, but no one was close enough to do anything for her. The spiked tail was poised to strike. Grey tried to fire his last few missiles as a last resort, a distraction even, but the scorpion was already bringing his tail down.

His heart leapt in his throat. Time seemed to slow down as Grey, Yang, and everyone else looked on as Ruby was about to die, but with a flash of light, the suffocation subsided. When the light cleared, Grey smiled at what took its place. Weiss had jumped in and used her ice dust to freeze the deathstalker's tail in place before the demon could hit its mark. Only question now was how did she get there so fast?

"I realize I can be… difficult to get along with," Weiss admitted as Ruby opened her eyes to see her rival standing over her protectively, a magical glyph glowing underneath them, "But I promise to be less of an ice queen if you just try to stop showing off."

"I'm not trying to show off," Ruby explained, picking up her weapon, "I just want you to know I can do this."

"I already know you can do this," Weiss shot back with a snarky pout, "You may be young, but you made it into this school for a reason, after all."

 _Hm,_ Grey thought to himself, suddenly remembering their last fight from earlier, _I guess letting them duke it out actually worked. Neat._

"So, just to summarize," Grey said with finality, stepping over to the pair with his hands in his pockets, "The entire gang is here, we've got a temporarily trapped scorpion, a nevermore with a grudge, and you guys are friends now. Honestly, that's not where I expected this day to go."

"WOULD EVERYONE JUST CALM DOWN AND GIVE ME A SECOND TO THINK?!" Yang wailed over the local chaos, seemingly catching fire as her eyes turned crimson and her hair began to glow an even brighter blonde.

"And, apparently, Yang can go super saiyan," Grey added, arching his eyebrows in surprise and appreciation of the display, "Now it's a party!"

He grinned dementedly, his right eye twitching, and without taking his eyes off of his two comrades, slammed the back of his fist into the ice containing the scorpion's tail, shattering it to pieces. He then shouted to the entire group as he bobbed and weaved around the claws trying to grab him. "Everyone get out of here! I'll cover you as long as I can!" Ruby and Weiss looked as if they were about to argue, but he pushed them back with a wall before they had the chance, and smacked the scorpion's tail aside with a backhand as it was about to impale itself into his torso, now getting stuck in the ground.

The plate on his left gauntlet expanded itself from the bracer. Pyrrha glanced over her shoulder as she followed Jaune and Ruby, the one's who had taken the lead, away from the scene, to see if she needed to help Grey, but as the plate circled around to form a steel buckler while he extended his right handed blade to meet the beast's claws, she realized her weaker cousin wasn't so weak anymore. Still, she wasn't too confident he could handle this on his own.

As she sped away, Grey blocked and dodged every strike it managed to send at him, using his semblance occasionally as a third weapon to meet the tri-armed beast evenly. However, even though his sword was causing a few cracks in the beast's shell, he wasn't making any progress, and was quickly losing ground. While his buckler and semblance could deflect any attack, and the sword could easily find a chink in the armor given the right angle, this technique simply wasn't good enough, and fighting the deathstalker one on one left him at the biggest disadvantage. This beast had the perfect guard when facing you directly. The only way you could beat it was if you could flank it on either side and cut off its claws, or get behind it and sever its tail, but its arachnid legs gave it a great level of agility, and even its claws were dexterous enough to either slam into you or grab you if you tried to get around them.

Grey had an idea. While his shields weren't necessarily the best weapons, they didn't really have to be used for defence either, and he most often used them for movement anyway, so with this in mind, he sheathed his weapons, cupped his hands together, and blasted them outwards to stun the scorpion. It had to push against that shield for just a second, but that was all Grey needed. He put that one away and launched himself upwards, jumped over the deathstalker, and grabbed the very end of its tail with the motion, extending his blade one more time. If he couldn't go around, might as well go over.

"Now I've got you!" Grey cheered, readying himself to cut off the deathstalker's tail to even the playing field, but the minute he swung his sword, the deathstalker slapped its tail against the ground, slamming Grey into a pile of dust, "Know what? I'm running out of witty remarks at this point. This doesn't normally happen."

Grey picked himself up off the ground and chose to go with a contingency of sorts. It was something he doesn't normally use since it normally gives him whiplash and threatens to tear his arms in half every time he does it, but if there was a cliff nearby, and if this deathstalker was dangerous enough to kill his sense of amusement, Grey felt that it had earned a painful death. Grey was clearly outmatched, so he might as well have let gravity do the work. Grey extended his shield one more time and banged his armored fist against it, getting the scorpion's attention, and backing away slowly, waiting for him to charge. He taunted it with names, but for some reason, the thing wasn't running at him. That was weird. Grey was an easy target if he wasn't going to defend himself, so why in the name of Vacuo's sunbaked beaches was that thing running away? Grey frowned for a moment. Grimm… don't run. Ever. At least not from humans.

 _At least not from humans,_ Grey realized, then turned around him to see a pair of glowing red eyes staring at him from behind the darkness of the woods.

"What… what the hell is that?" Grey stammered, his adrenaline spiking so hard that his limbs became airy and weak, his heart racing so quickly it pounded in his skull and threw off his balance and vision, and he felt like he could see the darkness of the forest growing, surrounding him even. Suddenly, all he could see was the blackest void around him, but there was something else. In front of him, coming from the darkness was a long, serpentine arm with a hand large enough to crush him like a bug was reaching out to take him. "Whatever it is, I'm not going to stay here long enough to find out!"

With that, Grey launched himself backwards as far as he could away from the creature. He could feel the darkness around him dissipate like a formless blanket, breaking through it like it was nothing more than a tangled spider web, and watched with no small amount of trepidation as the arm and its dark glow retreated into the woods.

"Shit…" Grey cursed, only using that particular word for special occasions like this one. He shook his head violently, smacking his cheeks once to get his head back in the game, and turned to see if he could catch up to everyone else taking the exam, but before he could leave, he noticed something. A small black pawn piece had appeared in the middle of the shrine on a single pedestal that Grey wasn't sure had been there before. Biting his lip, he wasn't sure if he should take it. Given what just happened… "Ah, what's the worst that can happen?" He pocketed the ebony idol and sprinted for the farthest end of the forest where his comrades had run off to, trying to forget the nightmare that just occurred, and focusing on the test. Once he saved the others, they would finally be sworn in as huntsman in training, as students of Beacon Academy.

 **(A/N) The ending was difficult for me, even more so than deleting 3-5 pages worth of extraneous bollocks during editing. As I said in the first author's note, the major plotlines of each act have been heavily edited to the point of a rewrite, but the overarching themes remain the same. However, in the spirit of giving you guys a good story that didn't make you want to gouge your eyes out, I had to rewrite the last two pages of this chapter multiple times to give you something that not only worked for this one chapter, but also gave you a better idea of how significant the black pawn piece truly is, as well as giving you some foreshadowing as to what will go down with the plot later on. Question is, what's the gimmick? What does the giant hand and the darkness have to do with anything? Is it a grimm? Was it some kind of dream or vision? All I can really say is that I feel satisfied with this ending, especially compared to the last few. This one not only places much greater importance on that individual loner of a chess piece, but also doesn't reveal anything too major to the overall storyline that won't be revealed very soon. I promise you, the significance of the black pawn piece will come in the next chapter as chapter 4 of act 1, the finale of this act, but the real reveal doesn't come until much later, since chapter 4 is meant to set up the actiony side of the plot that I promised you guys.**

 **Regardless, even if this ending isn't the best, it's better than what I had before. It took me forever to realize that the deathstalker wasn't really the important part as much as the pawn was. Every ending I tried to write had to do with Grey's duel with the grimm, and didn't really work. It was like half-baked filler and I wasn't going to subject you guys to that. Besides that, as far as the pawn piece was concerned, it was either an unimportant piece of junk that Grey didn't even know he picked up, was far too important and gave too much of a Deus ex Machina kind of feel to it, or wasn't even in this chapter to begin with. Granted, I realize I could have just (~INSERT SPOILER OF THE NEXT CHAPTER HERE~) but that wouldn't have worked either since the piece needed to be found during the exam, no exceptions. You'll find out what I mean later- and not in the next chapter -but for now, take a nap, drink some water, have a good dinner, and take some time to relax. You deserve to treat yourselves right, and you're also going to need it for the thrill ride I have in store for you later on.**

 **Good night, beautiful hunters.**

 **(Side note: There was some major crap going down with uploading this chapter, so if you guys see anything weird happening with this, like sentences or paragraphs repeating, or lines of computer code surrounding anything, let me know in a review or a PM. Apologies to anyone who got a notification that this updated and didn't see a chapter right away.)**


	4. About White Rose

**Hello, Beautiful Hunters! I apologize sincerely, but this isn't an actual chapter. Instead, I need to address a major problem in the development of** _ **War of OA**_ **that a few of my much loved readers have made me realize that I should make a statement about. To those few people who either reviewed or PMed me, and a few that even talked to me in person, I realized I said that I would leave this author's note either at the end of Act 1 Chapter 4, or at the very beginning of Act 2, but because there were so many people contacting me about this in the PM system, it seemed like a good idea to make a direct statement about it. Also, I'm pretty sure half of the people asking me about this aren't even following the story, which means I have to refer you guys to a very popular letter of the alphabet: Y?**

 **In any case, the issue I want to talk to you guys about is that I realize I may have confused everyone about the triad dynamic between Weiss, Ruby, and Grey. Before I posted chapter 3, if someone asked me how WeissxGreyxRuby was going to work, I would have given you the traditional "no spoilers" response and told you to keep reading the story, but that was back when I had already prewritten up to Act 4 and actually knew what the hell was going on with the plot and its characters. However, since I noticed that the original script of** _ **War of OA**_ **was the literary equivalent of any 3 seconds of nyan cat on loop, (plot holes for example), I decided to overhaul almost the entire story, and that means that things with WxGxR are kind of up in the air right now, so I'm going to tell you guys what's going on with that.**

 **First of all, WxGxR is canon to** _ **War of OA**_ **, and will always be canon to** _ **War of OA**_ **. That means that, after a certain point, Weiss and Ruby will both be dating Grey in a polyamorous love triangle, but I'm pretty sure what most of my Beautiful Hunters want to know about is White Rose. Obviously, if I'm going to form a triad between the pair of them and an OC, people are going to question if the two girls would also end up together. Don't get me wrong, even though I'm in the process of rewriting most of the story, I've already made my decision on if White Rose will become canon, but I'm not going to tell you what that decision is. I'm sorry, but even though WeissxGrey and RubyxGrey are both individually their own things, telling you guys what's going to happen between Weiss and Ruby would pretty much ruin a third of the entire book, so clearly, I'm not going to tell you anything. Honestly, my problem isn't about what happens with White Rose, it's more about the specific aspects of their relationship. No matter what happens between Weiss and Ruby romantically in** _ **War of OA**_ **, where am I going to go with it once it happens? How am I going to reach that outcome? How will this affect the triad and the other characters in the story? More importantly, how is this going to affect the story since plot relevance is my biggest concern with this?**

 **What you need to take away from that paragraph is that Grey will be dating both Weiss and Ruby after a certain point, but if you want to see if Ice Queen and Little Red end up together, you will have to keep reading since straight up telling you what happens will be an immersion breaking spoiler. To those of you whom I told their fate was to be determined, that's still true. I didn't lie to you guys, and I didn't just decide what to do with White Rose in the past two days. My only real issue with the White Rose problem, though, isn't if they'll end up together, but what I stated previously about what kind of consequence their dynamic would have on the story and other characters, as well as concluding that part of the story in a way that makes logical sense and keeps you guys entertained. Again, if you want to know if Weiss and Ruby take the plunge and get together, you need to keep reading.**

 **Being in a polyamorous relationship can be mentally taxing for one reason or another. The non-monogamous nature of the romance can make a person reevaluate their entire existence, making them ask themselves if this was something they truly wanted to do, and potentially causing a few mental problems along the way since that's not an easy question to deal with. That's only natural. However, with both Weiss and Ruby dating one man, Grey, they would eventually start questioning if they also had romantic feelings for each other since, in their minds, both of them dating Grey would mean that they were indirectly involved with each other as well. I try to pride myself on the realism and sturdy rationale within my stories, and this thought process is a common occurrence for many people who experiment with polyamory for the first time. Since they're both with Grey, they would inevitably ask themselves if they were obligated to be with each other, and not just him. That one question would then raise dozens of others such as, did they want to be with each other? Should they experiment with each other? If something happens, how would they handle it? Would they flip out? Would they give in to the pressure and explore? Most importantly, are they even attracted to girls? If they are, how will Grey react? What would he think if his two girlfriends ended up together alongside their relationship with him? If they're not attracted to girls, what would happen then?**

 **Keep in mind, White Rose plays a VERY SIGNIFICANT role in the story no matter how you look at it, and that's going to be true no matter what the outcome happens to be. Again, realism is my main concern with White Rose, so the very fact that there is even a question about if Weiss and Ruby become date mates means that I'm going to eventually address it within the context of the story. Each and everyone of these questions will be answered at some point in** _ **War of OA**_ **, and if I can think of any others that seem pertinent to the situation, I'll put those down as well. This is just realistic. These are the kinds of things someone would ask themselves when just beginning a polyamorous relationship, especially if they were in the same situation Ruby and Weiss are in where they've never had a single boyfriend, and never really had a reason to question their own sexual preferences or interests.**

 **Of course, before I can even touch upon White Rose, I'm going to need to deal with the most important conflict in the romantic storyline, and tackle the reason why Weiss and Ruby would want to be in a triad to begin with. Obviously, polyamory is no joke. Its not an easy relationship to maintain, and I'm pretty sure every single human being on the face of the planet is aware of this. Before WxGxR can officially become canon, Ruby and Weiss would be going nuts trying to figure out if they wanted to share Grey with one another and how they would manage doing so, and if being with the man they both loved would be worth the emotional backlash that would no doubt come with the relationship. How badly do they want to be with him? How would they handle the jealousy? Could they handle the jealousy? Would they be able to withstand the thought that Grey could spending more time with one girl than the other, and that gossip about each of them behind their backs was bound to happen at some point? Would one girl try to undermine the other? Would she try to steal him away from her? Primarily, could they handle the thought of Grey sharing his love and affectionate with another girl instead of focusing all of his attention on one of them? Essentially, what this comes down to is that before I can make White Rose even remotely relevant to the storyline, I have to make a triad relationship with Grey not only seem like a viable option for them, but also make them enthusiastically consent to it. I have to raise these questions about polyamory in a logical scenario for each character, give a satisfactory answer to each of them when the character comes to a decision, and then I need to make the characters willfully engage in the dynamic because it seems desirable and that they know exactly what they're getting into before they do. I can't just ignore the flaws with polyamory and force them into it with some half-baked reasoning like, "Oh, we like the same guy? Twinsies!" Come on, that's just lazy.**

 **Also, is no one worried about Grey? Sure, he's my OC, and the main protagonist, and the center of the relationship when it first forms, but this doesn't mean that he's going to be the mastermind behind the whole thing or reveling in the fact that two girls want his D. He's human just like Weiss and Ruby. He's going to have just as many concerns over this relationship as they do, and I might even say he'd have more concerns considering he has a totally different role in the relationship than they do., primarily, potentially breaking up Team RWBY if things go south.**

 **Again, if I haven't made it clear yet, the topic of White Rose will not even be approached until Weiss and Ruby become comfortable enough with this new romantic experience that they can start focusing on other things besides making sure they don't screw things up. Only then will will they start questioning if they have feelings for each other. Only after Weiss and Ruby fully understand how polyamory works, and their dual relationship with Grey Arsen has been established, will I even come close to talking about their own potentially homoerotic feelings. They wouldn't even be thinking about that before things have been established. I'd also like to point out here that the reasoning I've decided for how WxGxR becomes canon will also play into the development of White Rose because. I may have had to take a bit of creative license with the World of Remnant, but it still fits perfectly within the lore.**

 **Other than that, there is one more thing I need to touch up on, and feel free to skip down to the last paragraph where I summarize this author's note if you want to. In regard to White Rose, this isn't really that important, but it does have to do with the rest of the story and the plotline of** _ **War of OA**_ **, so I would highly recommend reading this whole thing.**

 **I've made it my mission to put every single major ship in the fandom as part of the story, even if I just mention it once or twice, and each and every single one of them will have a significant influence on how the story progresses, some more than others. This includes: Bumblebee (YangxBlake), Arkos (JaunexPyrrha), Flour Power (RenxNora assuming that's the term for it), SunxBlake, and NeptunexWeiss, as well as a few less important ships that I feel would work well with this story. I'm not going to guarantee that every ship will be romantically involved, but each of them will be mentioned at the very least. More importantly, most if not all of them will influence the romantic relationship between Weiss, Grey, and Ruby either positively or negatively. Again, each ship will be in the story, but as for what kind of relationship they have, you have to continue reading the story and find out for yourself. I've already figured out what I want to do with each of them as well, even though I'm still working out what will happen with White Rose, but that's only because they're all minor characters, and Weiss and Ruby require more careful attention because they're the MCs. They have the most important story relevance, so they need to be treated as such.**

 **TL;DR, there's a list of things that you need to take away from this: 1) I'm not going to tell you what specifically happens with White Rose, so if you want to know if they get together, keep reading. 2) Due to how much I try to focus on realism and plot relevance/impact, no matter what happens with RubyxWeiss, thank the plot. 3) Even if they don't end up together, they'll both still be dating Grey at the same time. 4) Every major ship will be in the story, but I'm not going to tell you if they end up together, so if you want to know what happens to your OTP, keep reading, and no matter what happens, thank the plot. 5) Weiss and Ruby will at some point question their sexuality and if they're attracted to each other. 6) Before any of that is going to happen, the triad between those two and Grey needs to be established first- that's the most important thing.**

 **Take care, Beautiful Hunters. I will see you in the in the Act 1 finale next update.**


	5. Chapter 4

*****PLEASE READ*****

 **(A/N) Ah yes! The traditional, unwanted but much needed author's note! This is the fourth and final installment of Act 1 of War of OA! First thing I need to tell you is that since this is a finale, I won't be putting a word limit on this one like I normally do, (Yang calls bullcrap on that), so this one is going to be much longer than the others just for the sake of having worthwhile content. There's a lot of stuff that needs to be said, and it all needs to be said, a lot of questions you need to have answered, and a lot of things that need to happen before I can start Act 2, and considering how the story is structured, it all needs to happen NOW in this chapter. Keep in mind that even though this chapter basically serves the same purpose as a season finale of any TV show, or anime, or drama, THIS IS A BOOK. I'm not going to be the jerk who arbitrarily decides to finish off one single portion of the story and take a long break like I'm in some poorly organized roleplay. What, are you kidding? Why would I do that? How would taking a break after this make sense? What purpose would it serve? The answer is nothing. There is no good reason for me to do something like that since the only effect it would have would be that it would piss you off tremendously and screw you over.**

 **Basically, what I'm trying to say here is that the updates will still come out on something resembling a regular schedule. I know I've been updating somewhere around once a month, or at least that's what I've been trying to go for since I still have work and school to deal with, and that update schedule is not going to change. If this isn't making sense to you, I wouldn't blame you since I can't explain things properly outside of character, so I'm going to try to simplify it as best I can: The Act 1 finale comes out somewhere around a month after Chapter 3? Great. Chapter 1 of Act 2 comes around after the exact same amount of time? Even better. Wait for it, though. It gets even better. You ready? Are you ready for this? ARE YOU READY, BEAUTIFUL HUNTERS?! Drum roll, please! No? OK, then, fine! Jerks…**

 **The best part about this is that, while some of you may have been worried that I was going to put the next 4 Acts in their own individual places on my profile and make them their own story, don't worry. Just like putting my update schedule on hiatus to simulate the release of the show, making Acts 2-5 their own stories would, again, make no sense, therefore, I'm not going to do it. Acts 2-5 will still be part of this story. I'm not going to create a whole new story just to continue this one. Instead, what I'm going to do is carry on like normal, and update this story regularly by making Chapter 1 of Act 2 the next update and labeling it as such so you can differentiate between each part of the story, and because I'm a flashy S.O.B., I'm going to create a cover page at the start of each Act with fireworks and sparks and stars and ~** _ **ohh say can you see!~**_ ' **Murican glory! Why? Just because I feel like it and because starting an entirely new portion of the story without making it clear that way doesn't really work for me.**

 **Now that that important bits are out of the way, grab a drink, prop your feet up, and enjoy the finale Beautiful Hunters.**

 *****IF YOU DIDN'T READ IT, GO BACK AND READ IT*****

Chapter 4

Grey couldn't waste any time. The same as Ruby had done earlier, he jumped to the of the nearest tree and attempted to get the best view he could of the surrounding area, and saw the group running towards the cliff. Using a scope on Albatross, his right arm, he could see a stone bridge connecting to a tower that completely eclipsed the surrounding area. The tower itself, however, looked completely run down, almost destroyed, having no noticeable entrance and covered in moss and lichen as if it had been there for several hundred years. It might have just been a plateau if not for some exposed metal reflecting the sunlight, From this angle, he could see the nevermore closing in on them, but cursed his luck when he looked at the ground. Beowolves. Dozens of them.

"Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee, and Blake Belladonna," Ozpin said into the microphone, standing at the podium in front of a large audience made of friends and family as the teams were now being announced, the test finally over, "You all picked the white knight pieces. Your teamwork in the face of an unbeatable foe was beyond exemplary, showing every trait of the hunters and huntresses that Beacon strives to create. You will be known as Team RWBY and your leader will be Ruby Rose."

The roar of the crowd was deafening. The teams had learned just before the ceremony that the entry exam had been broadcast on Vale's network television, and this gave a few of the new students a trivial number of fans and followers. Beacon Academy had pretty much been turned into a school for local celebrities instead of elite warriors, many of the first years gaining the admiration of the citizens of Vale for one reason or another. After showing a highlight reel of the test's greatest moments at the beginning of the induction ceremony, all of the students were either suffocating in embarrassment or drowning in pride after seeing their biggest blunders as well as their greatest triumphs on the big screen. Some of the students like Blake and Yang were convinced they were going to be viewed as Grade-A action heroes with their performances. Not that they cared, of course. Others, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to runaway to the woods or the desert and become a hermit, living off of roadkill and mushrooms, after seeing how the crowd responded to their screw ups, laughing so hard they fell out of their seats, and probably viewing them as nothing more than the cast of a failed sitcom. Weiss was one of the few who hung her head in shame. She actually wanted to cry. However, when the audience jumped out of their seats, going ballistic for Team RWBY as they worked together to defeat the Giant Nevermore as the clip's closing scene, Weiss could only straighten up with renewed confidence. Turns out, though, thanks to her ability to think on her feet and come up with the most outrageous and yet successful plans, in addition to her demonic fighting ability on the battlefield, but at the same time being a cute and quirky individual, Ruby had quickly become a fan favorite, blowing up message boards with descriptions and fanart of how adorable but powerful she was. "Cute but dangerous" were the common ideas. The child becoming the leader of Team RWBY made everyone's day.

There was one thing that just didn't make sense to everyone. Grey had played a major part helping everyone survive, making Weiss and Ruby become friends, and allowing everyone to finish the test, so where exactly was he?

(...)

Grey had a technique in his repertoire that he hadn't yet used, mostly because he had avoided it. It required a lot of energy that he had lost during his time in the Emerald Forest, and an even greater amount of dexterity and skill to pull off that he didn't have, but now, he didn't have a choice. If he didn't use it, the beowolves would reach his friends before he did. Even with just two of them focusing on the pack and the rest on the nevermore, a few beowolves wouldn't normally be an issue, except this time it seemed like the smaller group that Weiss and Ruby had run into had spread the word and gathered all of their friends for one major assault, raising their numbers from one dozen to one hundred. The biggest problem was that Grey was one man. His help wouldn't make much of a difference. It wouldn't make much of one, but even the smallest advantage for his friends was an advantage, and Grey wasn't going to waste any time delivering it. Grey jumped from his perch.

This plan could go one of two ways, and Grey had to swallow his fear to face that fact. He could either triple his travel speed and arrive at the battlefield before the enemy did, assuming he could do this correctly, or he could screw up horribly and end up with a such a horribly disfigured form that he could only communicate with other humans through a mechanical straw and an elaborate series of pulleys. He felt crazy, and really was crazy, but if it meant his friends could survive a bit longer then it would be worth it. Right? Mass paralysis and loss of all situational awareness? Perfect outcome; definitely the ideal. As Grey fell from the top of the tree, he threw his hands towards his feet, and landed on a horizontal shield that he summoned underneath him, landing on a knee that sunk the safety a net a few feet, and the lack of resistance cushioned the fall enough to save him from breaking his ankles. Although, a light sprain was the least of his issues. He saw this kind of thing once in an anime, and after ending up in the hospital after attempting it the first time, his grandad had scolded him so harshly he never tried it again until now when he had no other alternative. Just like then, the real issue wasn't creating the vehicle or using it. The real issue, the true danger to trying to copy one of his favorite tropes in fiction, was balancing on it long enough to where he wouldn't fall off of it and die.

Grey was lucky he had a strong core or this wouldn't have worked. Once the volatile equilibrium of the board had been achieved and he could stand on it normally, he leaned forward, launching himself towards the enemy. They weren't too far and it was just one direction he had to travel in, so this shouldn't end too badly. If he just subdued his aura to try to keep out of the sight of the nevermore, there shouldn't be any problems and he would be able to sneak up on the beowolves on the ground.

"There's Grey!" Sneaking up on the enemy? Apparently, that wasn't an option while Jaune was looking over his shoulder to see if Grey was following him, making him gather the nevermore's attention.

"I am so going to kill him later…" Grey grumbled and prepared to face the biggest player in the game.

(...)

Grey watched from the corner of the room, a small smile on his face as he watched his friends revel in their victory and the praise of the crowd. Although, his smile was a sad one. Ozpin himself had approached Grey after the test was over and explained to him a situation that broke Grey's heart. Calmly, Ozpin detailed how the teams were decided, being chosen based on the specific chess pieces the first years had picked up and the the dynamic of how the partners and the other students interacted with one another playing a more psychological role to find the team's weaknesses and work on them during the year. What stuck in his mind were the chess pieces, and that his was the only unique one. Team RWBY had all picked the white knight pieces, Team JNPR the white rooks, and Team CRDL the black bishops, leaving only one other option for the odd man out. Grey had been the one who had been dealt that unfortunate hand and was the only one who picked up a piece that didn't have a counterpart- the Black Pawn. Ozpin let his monologue hang in the air once he said that Grey's piece was the only one of its kind. That wasn't good for him. Grey wasn't necessarily a pessimist, but he did have a habit of focusing on the negative aspects of most situations, and this created an issue that Grey couldn't find a solution for. Grey wasn't going to be put on a team. Grey had to make a decision, and in his panicked and depressed state, all he could think of to do was leave Beacon for good. There was no point in staying.

Grey grabbed his bags and started to walk out of the building, making a conscious effort to avoid any of the friends he made in the past few days, including Pyrrha, and especially Weiss and Ruby. His escape wasn't supposed to be very difficult since the majority of Beacon's students and faculty were still in the assembly and filing out to the after party, but the academy's security guards seemed to be working over time for the ceremony. He doubted they would have been looking for him, or that they would stop any of the students, but he couldn't help but be on edge. As nothing more than a precaution, he decided to find another way out than the service entrance. It was unfortunate, though, that the only exit he could think of besides the back and front doors was the emergency exit by the headmaster's office, the door where he ran into none other than the school's resident sadist, Glynda Goodwitch. She was blocking the door in a rather dominant position, her feet put tightly together and slapping her riding crop in her palm with a look of pure fury on her face. _Well…_ Grey thought, _crap._

 _Boom,_ the blast resonated through the hills. The nevermore had become aware of Grey's presence after Jaune made the foolish, amateurish mistake of pointing out his sneak attack, something that could have gotten him killed in a more difficult mission, and the beast turned on its airborne heel with a screech. The flying huntsman rolled his eyes as best he could without falling off his mount, then focused on his enemy. There was already a plan forming in his mind. Of all the no-good, dirty rotten plans he could have come up with, after all the worries about falling off and reminding himself not to do that, as soon as the nevermore was in range, Grey leaned forward on his transport just a bit more and began to fall off, but just before he lost the momentum, he sprung forward. He used the shield as a springboard, launching from it like a catapult, and pulled his fist back. The nevermore didn't have time to react and open its mouth to devour its prey, but the launch had pushed Grey hard enough for him to catch it off guard and punch the colossal bird with a single, semblance laced strike. _Boom,_ and the blast knocked the bird out of the sky.

That was a bad idea, Grey realized, but far too late after the grimm had landed unconsciously in the center of the bridge, shattering it enormous pieces of debris and separating the two teams, but putting them at risk for falling into the abyss. Grey watched in horror as the ground gave out beneath their feet and the began to plummet. He was frozen in place, praying that something would save them until he saw each of them finding their own ways back up onto solid ground like Yang and Ruby using concussive gunfire, Blake using her elastic grappling hook to launch herself upwards, and Weiss using a series of glyphs as stairs. As for the others, Pyrrha used her shield Akuo like a snowboard while using Milo's gunfire to propel herself forward, and Ren showing off his agility by using the debris itself to make his way up. Jaune, though, didn't have the skill to save himself. If he could still take care of Pyrrha like he thought could, Grey didn't care, and he only realized that after the fact, but Nora having to use her hammer to catapult him forward using the only in tact part of the bridge wasn't that pretty of a sight, but Nora using her grenade launcher to join up with her friends, cutely holding onto it like the mast of a sailboat, made up for it. The maniac was funny. Grey, however, was still filled with so much guilt by the time they saved themselves that he had forgotten to put up another barrier to break his own hundred meter fall until the last minute, making him create a giant crater that may have slain a dozen beowolves, but still knocked him out cold from the fierce impact.

"Lupo!" Pyrrha called out to her cousin, kicking herself for letting slip the endearing term she had used for him growing up, but she couldn't help it as he fell into the very center of the pack. She was starting to panic. Even though she was a world champion, an S-Class fighter that didn't back down from any challenge or show fear in the face of any foe, seeing her best and only childhood friend come so close to death was making her lose it, panic rising into her throat. She started to charge after him, but a yank on her sash stopped her.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune ordered, getting her attention to make her see an incredibly commanding face that caught her off guard, "Don't worry about him. I have a plan to get him, but you have to trust me." Pyrrha glanced back to their enemy, biting her lip as she watched the beowolves howl in victory at cornering their prey and circling in on Grey's unconscious form, but when she turned back to Jaune, she made a decision. It went against every aspect of her nature, but she trusted Jaune. Instinctively, she knew he would make the right decision, and even though he wasn't the best fighter, Pyrrha could see in his eyes that he knew what he was doing, and would follow his lead no matter what.

"Alright, just tell me what to do," the world champion told the farm boy, making him grin heavenly as if being blessed by the gods above with those words.

"Nora and I are going to run through the pack," he started, Ren firing in the mob as they began to close in and Nora knocking away anything that came close, "I need you to stay here and run interference for Ren while he covers our backs. Nora! You ready?" Jaune took his shield off his arm and held it over his head like a platform. Nora turned to him with a big, toothy smile that spoke of a psychotic love of battle, and flexed her muscles with the power of a thousand men.

"Ready!" Confirmed the girl but before Pyrrha could second guess Jaune or his plan, thinking the novice didn't have the strength to lift someone over his shoulders that way, Nora switched her hammer to its grenade launcher form and jumped on the platform. Jaune didn't even flinch.

Pyrrha grinned and started slashing at everything that came her way, making a mental note that farm work must be more physically demanding than she previously thought.

(...)

"And just where do you think you're going, Mr. Arsen?" Glynda Goodwitch demanded. Grey tried to answer nonchalantly, trying to play this off, but with that sharp stare of hers, all of his confidence wavered and his knees buckled, his voice releasing a sharp crack from the nerves.

"I was just going for a midnight stroll, Prof," he lied. She was having none of it.

"Do your bags need to be taken for walks?" She raised her eyebrow humorously.

"Yeah, it's good exercise, you know?" Grey continued to lie badly, "Good for the glutes."

"I'm not an idiot, Grey," Glynda spat, sticking her riding crop in his face, "Don't treat me like one. Now come with me. There's something you need to hear." With that, the witch began walking to the elevator leading up to Ozpin's office, but turning around for a second to say one final thing. "Oh, and just so you know. We did have the entire security staff searching for you, in case you were wondering."

 _I freaking knew it!_ Grey thought to himself, then decided to follow the lioness with a huge sigh. He shifted awkwardly more than once on the ride up to the headmaster's office, Glynda being silent the entire way up, standing behind him with her eyes digging into his back and making feel more self conscious than a huntsman should have. He felt like a field mouse being eyed up by a falcon. Like she was going to strike at him and make him her dinner at any moment. He was surprised to find himself questioning if he was actually going to make it to the top of the headmaster's office alive, even though she was a teacher and wasn't likely to maim any of her students. She might have possibly harmed them, but she wasn't going to injure them. It wasn't until Grey made it to the top that things became clear.

"Ah, hello Mr. Arsen," Ozpin greeted him, "I hope you are enjoying yourself after everything that has transpired today." Grey sat in the seat across from the older gentleman and crossed his arms.

"How could I?" he asked venomously, "You told me I wouldn't be placed on a team. I came to this school to become a huntsman, and after hearing that I wouldn't be able to do it with my friends? Or at all? There's nothing for me here anymore."

"Are you sure about that?" Ozpin asked coyly, sipping his coffee, "I only explained to you how the teams were formed. I never told you that you wouldn't be placed on one." Grey raised his eyebrow at this, but decided to remain silent. "Do you still have the chess piece you picked up in the forest?" Arching his brow fully at the question, Grey slowly pulled the black pawn out of his pocket and placed it on the desk in front of the headmaster, where Ozpin picked it up and examined it, noticing all of the scratches and chinks in the metal that had most likely appeared during the end of the exam. "Do you know anything about chess, Grey?"

"I mean, I'm not great at it," he said hesitantly, "But I know how to use all of the pieces and the basic rules behind them. Knights move in the shape of an L and are allowed to jump over other pieces, rooks can only move vertically or horizontally, and bishops can only move diagonally, for instance." Grey traced the shapes of the piece's limitations in the air with his finger when he described them.

"What about pawns?" Ozpin asked with a slight undertone that he was hinting at something important.

"Pawns are… the sacrificial pieces. They can only move forward, line up in the front of the group when the game starts, can move two spaces on their first turn and one space every subsequent turn, but can only attack diagonally… What's your point, Sir? I'm confused." Ozpin went mute as he took a moment to enjoy his tea or coffee, whatever was in the mug, driving Grey insane. The boy knew better than to snap at him again, but this was unbearable.

"What happens when a pawn reaches your opponent's side of the board?" he asked seriously, his smile disappearing. Grey recoiled at the expression, never seeing something so dark on him before, but managed to find some kind of answer.

"They can be promoted to any other piece in the game. Even queens."

"But not kings, correct?" Ozpin set his mug down at that question, feeling as if this conversation was finally going somewhere.

"Correct," Grey affirmed, "That would change the boundaries of the game entirely."

"You picked the black pawn piece," Ozpin reiterated, "Obviously, whether you realize it or not, the piece stuck out to you. It was the only one of its kind. Whether you meant to pick it up or not, you decided that you would be unique, the one who would stand out or stand alone, and I find that it was appropriate for you, as well. In the forest, you decided to stay back and fend off the deathstalker that was attacking your friends while they made their escape, knowing you were outmatched, then risking your life with an incredibly advanced technique to reach them again and saved them one more time. Also, in the forest, when you were alone with Weiss and Ruby, you managed to urge them towards peace and kept them focused on the objective long enough to complete it. You are the one on the front lines, just like the pawn's original purpose, but at the same time, you are the one who does what needs to be done, no matter what it takes to do it, just like when a pawn is promoted. In other words, we believe you could be a very powerful huntsman with the proper training."

"What are you getting at, Sir?" Grey asked, finding that the conclusion to this conversation was about to hit him like Nora's hammer.

"We would like you to be the... utility player, if you will," Ozpin said with a smile, a bead of sweat forming at his temple, "You will answer directly to myself and the other teachers, and anyone else we give authority, but you will have more privileges than the other students. You will be allowed to go where you want and where you are needed, to fill whatever role you have to, with proper license and allowances that the other students do not possess. Although, I think what you're more worried about is that you won't be placed on a team, so I'd like to point out that if you take the title of Black Pawn, you will unofficially be considered a member of every team in the school, and will be able to switch between them as you deem it necessary." Ozpin picked up his mug again and looked at Grey over his glasses before taking a sip. "Does this sound like something you would want?"

Grey was upset. He was happy. He was ecstatic even but he was also angry and felt betrayed. He felt like he had been taken advantage of by this manipulative man that was soon to become his headmaster, since he had been cornered into only having one valid answer to this question. However, the strongest emotion he felt was excitement. He would be answering only to the people who were in charge, no one else. It was almost as if he was already a professional huntsman only after his first day at Beacon Academy. The best part, however, was that doing this would enact some kind of executive order to still stay with his friends instead of forcing his expulsion, with Ruby and Weiss, with Yang and Blake, and he would be able to watch Pyrrha and Jaune's inevitable romantic relationship blossom. He would be able to grow with those he cared about. He would eventually become the man he was destined to be, and he would be able to do so with all of the people he cared about, particularly Ruby, who had quickly become his best friend, and Weiss whom he wanted to see where that attitude would take her. All he had to do was look this complete jagoff of a headmaster in the eye, as kind and generous yet unexpectedly deceptive as he was, and say one thing.

"I'll do it," Grey decided, "I'll be your… pawn." He smiled up at his headmaster, a smile that told him he was ready for whatever was going to come at him, no matter what.

(...)

The battlefield on top of the cliffs quickly became covered in the blood of the fallen. The term "bloodbath" had never before been so literal to Pyrrha as she started slipping in the fluids after slaying only a few Grimm and could only continue defending against the assault, drenching herself even more and blinding her vision once or twice. A few times, she saw an opening to kneel in front of Ren and use her Akuo as a bracer to help Ren cover Jaune's and Nora's charge. Jaune's plan was working perfectly as well. Even though he only described the bare minimum of how it was supposed to work, his team had filled in the blanks of how his plan was supposed to work, and he guided the team almost entirely on unspoken signals that they understood without any context. It was like he was the source of the group's flawless chemistry. He didn't need to tell Pyrrha nor Ren that they were meant to take out from afar any of the beowolves that went after himself and Nora, while the tank above him used her hammer to knock away anything that got too close. She even used her heart shaped grenades to blow away the beowolves that centered around Grey.

"Grey! Wake up!" Jaune called to him. He slid down the crater and pounded his fist on the barrier that was surrounding his friend's unconscious form, trying to get through to him but the man couldn't hear a word. He was already out cold, but the subconscious barrier was soundproof. Any kind of sound that came from outside its protected area would never make it through, but Jaune was still trying. "If you don't wake up, we're all going to die! We need your help! Ruby and Weiss are fighting that nevermore by themselves and we're surrounded by grimm on every side! Pyrrha's fighting for her life to protect you! Do you want her sacrifice to be in vain?! Wake up!" Suddenly, a strong arm pulled the impromptu leader out of the crater.

"Jaune! You need to get away from him!" Pyrrha yelled at him. Jaune looked more offended than a soccer mom with bad customer service. Was she serious?

"Pyrrha, how could you leave your cousin like that?! He's going to die if we don't do something!" Jaune slapped her arm off of him, trying to talk sense in her as Ren and Nora tried to cover them from the beowolves that were now beginning to overwhelm them with their numbers. The group had to have killed at least thirty, but they just kept coming. Jaune could only imagine the girls on the other side of the chasm were handling the giant nevermore. His group may have been fighting a hundred weak enemies, but they were fighting a single, greatly powerful enemy that required more focused attacks and singular attention. Then, there was Grey, cold and unmoving in the dirt, with Pyrrha pointing at him threateningly.

"Jaune, look at him. His aura is spiking up to a dangerous level, and his semblance is becoming so unstable that we can't even see him through his barrier anymore! You may not have seen him fight normally, but his shields are almost entirely transparent with only an outline to let you know they're even there! His barrier is so distorted now that you can tell something's wrong! Does this make sense to you?!" Jaune stammered for a second.

"What am I supposed to do then?!" He demanded. Just then, Pyrrha saw another trait in Jaune that made him a good leader. Jaune didn't know anything about Grey or his semblance, but he knew Pyrrha did, so instead of stubbornly holding his ground and not changing his decision, he let someone more knowledgeable take the lead and advise him on what to do. Pyrrha just nodded at him and pulled him aside, directing the others to follow her. It took a bit of effort and some combat to get away from Grey safely, the group slaying a few beowolves to open a path and slipping on blood a few times, but they managed to get away just in time to escape the atomic blast that chased after them. With Grey at the epicenter, a large wave of chaotic energy exploded from his motionless form that killed everything it touched, tearing the beowolves to shreds, incinerating them, blowing them up, or simply just removing their life force by pushing it out of them. There was such a negative feeling behind that every grimm chasing the group turned back to watch the scene, giving the humans time to do the same.

"What… what is that?" Ren asked, either amazed or afraid, not that anyone other than Nora could tell.

"It's a laser light show!~" Nora responded, singing in a cheery voice at the beautiful sight of death and carnage.

"Nora, I don't think that's a lightshow," Ren calmly explained, more or less undisturbed by Nora's excitement or what she was excited for.

"You're right…" Pyrrha declared, not really paying attention to either of them as Grey appeared from the crater, "It's much worse…"

The four of them could only watch in terror as Grey's aura had taken a physical form wrapping around his body like a wild flame that burned anything that touched him, and even if something got close, his fists would lash out and destroy it. His black hair was rising above his head from the energy, flowing freely. Every step he took made his long and wavy hair flutter in the breeze vertically above him, and there were traces of his aura laced in his hair like highlights, or perhaps that was blood that had seeped into the strands. Every step he took through the mob of enemies struck the ground hard, creating cracks in the earth. His aura had so much power behind it that any loose object around him such as pebbles or bones were lifted into the air and began swirling around him in a vortex, occasionally flying off to strike an enemy, not to mention it had such a blazing heat that the group watching him felt their faces heating up uncomfortably which made them have to turn away. The worst part were his eyes. Any color that was in them had been completely removed. Before, his eyes had been the famed and rare silver like in the legends, but now, they were entirely black, sclera and all.

"Pyrrha…" Jaune asked hesitantly, "What's going on with him?"

"It's…" Pyrrha tried to answer him, but she had to push down her fear as best she could before she found the strength, "It's his true semblance. His shields are only a tool he uses to keep this side of him at bay, hidden so far beneath the surface that you would never think it was there in the first place. We call it… Black Steele, the Berserk Semblance."

"Die…" Black Steele muttered. His voice deep and sharp, making the beowolves surrounding bow down in fear, but then he broke out into a giant, mindless cackle as the atomic fire power of his aura exploded once more and destroyed everything in its path, "DIE!"

(...)

"No lady stilts~!" Ruby cheered. Over the loud, pumping music of the dance floor, the screams, the laughter, the dancing, the sheer intensity of the after party from the induction ceremony, no one heard what she said, or knew or cared that she was praising not having to dress up for the party, but they didn't care. Everyone could feel the energy in the room, and when the aura of someone else overpowered the rest of the room and that person ushered a toast, they could only agree with them scream, no matter what the toast was. Everyone was happy and they had good reason to be.

Everyone except for the obvious contenders, that is. Pyrrha was in the process of dealing with the obligated fan worship she knew she was going to receive and failing to politely get away from it, Jaune was doing his best to keep his new Team JNPR's attention since he was the kind of person at the party who wouldn't stray too far from his friends, and Ruby, although gleeful that she didn't have to dress up in heels and a fruity cocktail dress, was still trying to process everything, suffering from sensory overload. Ruby was the kind of person at the party, who either hung out at the tables or refreshment table just to hang out. There was really nothing wrong with that, but it was a little surprising that dancing wasn't really Ruby's cup of tea, given her energy and quickly spiked adrenaline, but she was still having fun talking to the others students. Back at Signal, she always kind of kept to herself. She was also the kind of person who made friends very easily, quantity over quality, everyone loving her, and simply enjoying her ambiverted presence. She just simply didn't care what kind of person you were as long as long as you smiled at her and treated people kindly. Granted, she was already guaranteed to have a friend in Grey. Maybe Blake would open up to her a bit more as the year progressed, and since Yang was her older sister, there were no worries there, but perhaps, with a bit of luck and proper effort on his part, Grey could get her and Weiss to become friends. They should get along well at the very least.

Speaking of the other three, Yang had acquired the same kind of attitude that Grey had seen on Nora, and was jumping from one side of the room to the next in the blink of an eye, unable to sit still and partying so hard that she kept the scene alive. The minute Grey took his eyes off of her, which given the size and intensity of the crowd, was easy to do, he would lose her. If he wanted to see her from his seat, he would just have to take a sip of his drink and focus on which part of the crowd had broken out into a mosh pit, the naturally blonde super saiyan right in the center of it all, her hair never losing its burning glow. Grey could hear her screaming in joy no matter where she was in the room. Knowing that she was a true party girl that had hung around the popular crowd at Signal, having both been to and thrown a few herself, Grey wouldn't have put it past her to be drunk right then. Actually, that was how he met her back then, being pretty popular himself. She was the life of the party, that was for sure.

Blake on the other hand, Grey wasn't sure where she was. The room was dark, so with her gothic sense of fashion, she had the best camouflage, and besides that, she was always quiet and discreet. Even if she had been in the same room with you all day, you wouldn't know it. Not unless she spoke up. If you saw her sit at your table the minute she joined your group for lunch, you would forget that she was even there in a matter of minutes. She had that kind of unassuming, stealthy aura that concealed her presence without even meaning to. Most often, if anyone ever noticed that Blake was there, it would be because she wanted to be noticed, not because you were observant enough to find her. Grey didn't even think she was in the same building until she saw her sitting with Weiss at a table in the corner, both of them looking as miserable as ever, but the graceful noir looking as if she was fearing for her life because of the noise and discord. Blake's eyes were bugging out of her head and she was twitching as if she were on really hardcore drugs. The only reason Grey was able to pick Blake out of the crowd, though, was because she was sitting next to the Ice Queen who's snowy glow had given enough contrast to Blake's darker apparel that it was easy for Grey to spot her.

Speaking of Weiss, she kept Grey's attention. Just like him to a large degree, she seemed depressed, as if this wasn't potentially one of the best nights of her life or as if she had gotten some really bad news that had ruined the night for her beforehand. Sure, the induction ceremony didn't start well for her, but it turned around. The message boards loved her. Sitting in silence with Blake, she rested her chin in her hands as she watched the crowd in front of her flip their lids, and only gave brief answers to Blake's panicky questions. "Fine," "I don't know," "Whatever." It was like she was bored or lost in thought, and not really paying attention to her surroundings. Whatever was going through her head was clearly bugging her. From the perch that he was sitting on, a tall speaker in the back corner that would have made the greatest of rock concerts proud, he caught Ruby's eyes and nodded over to Weiss, the younger girl glancing at her partner and then nodding back in understanding. At least, Grey thought she understood. It was kind of hard to tell with the strobe lights, the sweat, and Ruby's excited mania as she met the other students.

Grey grunted painfully as he hit the floor hard ten feet below, stooping to a crouched position as he let the pain pass through his legs and knees, sore from earlier that day. Letting out a tense breath to help aid that, he stood up slowly.

 _That might have been a bad idea…_ he thought to himself, then caught a closer look at Weiss from ground level and saw the shiny glimmer her eyes, full of emotion and potentially getting closer and closer to crying. _Nah, I have a responsibility… or something…_ He tried to rationalize his decision to go over to her. It wasn't any secret that Grey had a small crush on her, and that was still true in a physical sense, but after spending half a day with her behind enemy lines, it wasn't too much of a stretch to say he hated her. Weiss may have had a tenuous peace with Ruby, but she couldn't say the same for him. The way she treated Ruby, the way she made the girl tear up in the middle of the battlefield and almost break down completely, it had set Grey off and filled him with an unbridled rage. Ruby was a bean child that had quickly become like a little sister to him, and Grey wanted to protect her with his life, so when he saw that amount of sadness and pain in someone so adorably innocent, his mind had been made up at what kind of person Weiss was. Later on in the final fight of the exam, it was probably what brought Black Steele forth. If it wasn't for Weiss being such a horrible person to the people he cared about, he never would've gotten Ozpin's direct attention.

Well, perhaps the Black Pawn piece had more to do with that, but still. His ability to create a brief, tenuous peace between her and Ruby was something that stuck out to his new mentor- whom he was still mad at, by the way -and only further implanted in the headmaster's mind to make Grey his apprentice. Still, if Ozpin was going to trick him that way, Grey was going to make sure he got his comeuppance. Grey had to think about his revenge for only a second before he sassily glued the handle to Ozpin's coffee mug when he wasn't looking so it would get stuck against his palm.

Still, Weiss was his unofficial teammate, and if Grey was being honest, he wanted the best for her. As much as he hated it sometimes, he was a good person at heart, and not only did he still care about Weiss despite how abrasive her personality was, if she was going to be on the same team as three people that he liked a lot more than her, he should probably try to be nice to her. If anything, he should make sure that she didn't end up trying to wear the other three's skin as a festive hat. Perhaps he was jumping the gun with that kind of judgement, but with what kind of temper she'd shown him previously, potentially killing the R, B, and Y of Team RWBY didn't seem like that much of an exaggerated assumption. OK, he was being unfair. He was going to try to comfort right? Right. That's what he was doing. Not to break her neck. She needed to be happy, not dead. Not sad either, and she obviously sad.

Growing up, Weiss never really had a real friend other than her sister Winter, and her butler Keinz, the latter of whom having been required to be friends with her so he could earn a regular paycheck. Keinz did go above and beyond, however, and even though Weiss didn't give him the best first impression, and was often kind of mean to him, he did make the effort to form a bond with the youngest member of the Schnee Clan. He was definitely a beloved confidant to Weiss, but that didn't changed the fact that that was his job. She wanted something real, something that didn't originally have to be forced. Looking back on the past two days, Grey's and Weiss's first meeting in the courtyard, their conversation during the orientation speech, the following night when he- she blushed at this thought -commented on her nightgown and her hair… he was definitely making a really good effort to try to earn her friendship, but she realized that only too late when she had already turned him away. It wasn't until he caught her from falling off of the colossal nevermore, that she realized what he had been trying to do with her and that she wanted him to be her first real friend. However, she rebuked him and his friends the whole time she knew him. She knew she wasn't really the most pleasant person to be around, having been raised by her father to be cold and distant to those beneath her, but he wasn't beneath her, and she was sure she never treated him that way, yet by the way she had berated his friends every time they spoke, she was convinced that she had destroyed any chance of a friendship she may have had.

Weiss wasn't familiar with the kind of wanting feeling that the realization stirred in her. The warmth, the lump in her throat, the burning tears of loss threatening to spill over, and a twisting in her stomach… is that what losing a friend felt like? She couldn't really decipher the emotion since it was so foreign to her, but all she really knew was that she wanted to be as close to Grey as she could, wanting to be with him 24/7. She wanted to be near him, to talk to him, and judging the way she felt when he held her at the shrine, she wanted that to happen again. It was even like she wanted to just… melt into him, is how she thought about it. Friendship, right? It's not the kind of friendship that she felt with Winter of Keinz, but they didn't count.

Regardless, she screwed everything up. Badly. She couldn't get that one argument with Ruby out of her head, the one where she thought that the girl was about to strike her just before Weiss told her "I'm still leagues better than you." It echoed in her mind like a knife digging its way through her chest. If any part of their time together had made Grey reject Weiss, it would've been that one. As she walked away from that argument, she could feel just how heartbroken Ruby had become, all because of that one phrase, but he would forgive her, right? She wasn't thinking clearly. She was fighting, arguing. She didn't mean what she said, and she really did want to apologize to Ruby, but how? The damage was already done. She needed to accept it, but that didn't make losing Grey, someone she wanted but never really had in the first place, any easier.

"Hey, Weiss," she heard none other than the voice of her ideal friend just above her. She was hallucinating, definitely, but it did seem weird how Blake scrambled to get away from the table as if the hallucination had spooked her. Everything about that girl screamed that she was a cat in human form. "Hello~. Remnant to Weiss Schnee. Calling Weiss Schnee. You have a call for you right in front of you. Come in… Yo! Ice Queen!" She wasn't hallucinating? It took a moment for her eyes to focus beyond the tears that had settled in her eyes, but that was the real Grey Arsen, waving his hand directly in her face.

"Oh!" she yelped, "Hi, Grey!" Weiss quickly but nonchalantly fixed her hair and skirt on a reflex, trying to make a good impression on someone she desperately wanted to impress. He sat down next to her, but turned his chair to face her as he leaned over the back, legs spread open around it, his chin resting on his crossed arms, and it wasn't the motion that created an unrestrainable smile from breaking out onto Weiss's face, but the fact that he had decided to come over and talk to her. It took her a second, but she managed to gather her regal persona once more, but then she saw his raised eyebrow before she could say anything else. "What?"

"I…" Grey started, then thought against pointing out how much happier she looked all of a sudden, "I came over here because you seemed a upset, but seeing that smile a second ago-" Weiss's lips parted in just the most minute form of surprise, and she felt her face flush "-I think I was wrong." Weiss couldn't stop it from happening. It was too reflexive, too impulsive for her to even see it happening, but she reached across the distance between them and wrapped her fingers around Grey's arm. He sounded like he was about to leave, so she had to stop him.

"No!" she squeaked, then looked down and realized exactly what she was doing and what she sounded like, then recomposing herself as best she could, "You don't have to leave. I actually wanted to talk to you."

"OK…?" Grey said at length, very confused at this point because of how nice she was being, and yet not sensing any kind of malice in her in that moment, "What about?" Weiss blinked in confusion.

"I…" Did she need a reason to talk to him? "I just…" Grey palmed his face and laughed at her, making a blush creep up to her face and burning a hole in her chest.

"You want to talk to me, but you don't even have anything to talk to me about? That is that the complete opposite of what I expected of you, darlin'!" Grey couldn't stop laughing at her, and this only made Weiss angry, crossing her arms and legs defiantly and making a huff of discontent. Sure, he didn't like her, but she was still really adorable.

"Oh, come one! It's not funny." This only made Grey laugh harder, making Weiss whine.

"It's hilarious, actually! You always have something to say, but the one time you actually want to talk to someone instead of just remind them that they're beneath you, you can't think of anything? What's the problem? Ursa got your tongue?" He leaned in and grinned coyly, flicking her forehead, and Weiss uncharacteristically squeaked and started swiping at his fingers, realizing just a second too late how childish that must have looked and growling at him, making him double over at her expense, her cuteness only increasing in his mind. He folded his hands behind his head and propped his feet on the table after turning his seat around, smiling tiredly. Acting so calm and relaxed, and speaking lightly as if just chatting with a friend over coffee, he didn't act like he was mad, but his words still formed a tornado of fear in her stomach. "Well, you've got my attention, Princess. You wanted to talk, so entertain me."

Grey smirked threateningly at her at the last few words, sprinkling a thinly veiled challenge in his tone and leveling his eyes on her. After that kind of provocation, there was no way Weiss was going to back down. With a deadly glare in his direction, making him smile wider like he was amused at her irritation with him, she had an idea that probably wasn't going to end well, but that would definitely keep his attention, and pulled out Myrtenaster, chuckling sadistically when she saw Grey jump a little at the sight of her weapon like she was going to stab him. Humorously, she waved him down and set the rapier on the table. Expertly, she flipped a switch and pulled out a canister of blue dust as if she had done so hundreds of times, then placed it in the center of the table. Grey was honestly curious where she was going with this, if she was going to ask him for his thoughts on dust, giving him the opportunity to blind her with his brilliance on the subject and being a topic he knew she was likely to ask him about, but a sense of dread overwhelmed him at the fiendish smile she flashed him. He had heard tales of the famed Schnee grin, filled with so much malice it seemed almost demonic, but the rumors would have never prepared him for this. Even then, he still wouldn't have expected her to pull out the boot knife.

"Two questions, Princess?" He noted, holding up two fingers, and she gave him another dirty look at the nickname, "First of all, I have no idea where you're going with this, and I am extremely curious about how many edged weapons you have on you right now." Weiss leaned her elbow against the table with her chin resting on the top of her wrist. Without breaking eye contact with him, she balanced the tip of the knife she was wielding on the table with the very tip of a single finger on her other hand, grazing its pommel, absentmindedly spinning it around as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You didn't phrase any of those as questions, Cub," she said but her tone was more teasing than reproachful, the friendly nickname throwing Grey off guard more than her peculiar behavior, "But just so you know, I always have at least three knives on me no matter what, to answer, and we're about to play a little game." Once again, Weiss gave him that cruel grin and held the knife firmly in her hand with a reverse grip. Digging the tip into the wood, she busied herself with using her other hand to twist a small screw on the dispenser that, after working in a dust shop for years, Grey was aware would make the canister heavily unstable if loosened too much. He ran his hands through his hair nervously.

"Really Weiss? You want to play chicken?" His lips were creased in a frown.

"What's the matter? You scared of a little fun?" She laced her words with a pouty baby voice, teasing him innocently, tricking him into taking her on for no reason other than to defend his pride, and he took the knife with a scowl.

"Hey, I didn't say I was against the idea," he said grinning, tapping the container once with the tip of the blade and turning it face his opponent with a confident grin, "Your turn, Doll."

"Thought you'd take the bait," Weiss smirked, tapping the device in the same manner after taking the knife, then flipping it around again.

"Actually, it had more to do with seeing you covered in ice than anything else," once his next turn was done, he flipped the knife over to her with a wink, and she pouted frustratedly.

"Oh, so now you're confident? Where was that a second ago?" With this next tap, the disturbance of the dust made its container roll to one side, making both the combatants bite their lips nervously. Grey took the knife and rolled it in his fingers before choosing to hit the actual release valve, making Weiss jump. She thought striking that part directly would make it explode for sure, but when all it did was let out a blast of cold air on the table beneath it, she blushed, feeling her face heat up at Grey smiling dubiously at her and handing her her knife back ceremoniously.

"You don't deal with the mechanics of dust yourself a lot do you?" He asked playfully. Weiss huffed and stabbed the dust container a bit harder, making Grey wince.

"Are you kidding? I have to work with dust everyday to make sure Myrtenaster is functioning properly. My entire fighting style relies more on dust than even my glyphs. Of course, I know the mechanics of dust."

"Maybe," he said perceptively, twirling the knife in his hands and using the flat of the blade to turn the dust container over, "But what about the machines that contain dust? The transportation? The weaponization? Do you know anything about the crafting process?" Weiss was starting to get a really bad feeling. When he grinned devilishly at her, she realized that maybe choosing Grey as an opponent to play chicken with was a mistake. "More importantly, did you really think you could challenge someone who has worked in a dust shop half his life and still win?"

Yeah, this was a bad idea. She noticed that he turned the knife sideways in a grip that wouldn't have been useful in combat, then thrust it at an angel where the fiberglass met the metal, making the container shake. It was a slight comfort knowing he guaranteed the explosion just then. However, what was going through her mind was still a great amount of discomfort when, just before the dispenser blew up in his face, he tapped his finger on the table, summoning one of his shields just beneath the object and flipping one end up like a power jack, making the volatile equipment face her, then crack. Weiss only had time to think, _crap,_ before she was covered in ice.

(...)

"So, tell me again what happened?" Glynda turned towards Grey and the leader of Team RWBY with one of the sharpest looks the pair had seen on her, but they had learned when they had brought an unconscious Weiss into the infirmary earlier that it wasn't one of contempt, but concern. Everyone had heard the explosion when it happened, and Grey already knew that lying to Glynda was a bad idea since she was going to find out the truth eventually and since he would be working with her later in the year, but he figured it would be best to keep up appearances with the pair right now and wait until later to clear up the confusion with his mentor. He just hoped she would understand his reasoning for his deception. His plan was to lie to Glynda now and make Weiss and Ruby, who had followed them to the hospital as the dust victim's team leader, think that he was willing to do anything to protect them, even poorly try to trick the teacher to avoid getting them in trouble. He would confess that he was trying to hide his position as the Black Pawn from them later.

That would work, right? Wait, did he even need to hide his position from them? It wasn't a secret was it?

"Like I said, Professor Goodwitch," Grey announced, "I caught Weiss trying to modify and upgrade her weapon, and considering I've worked directly with that equipment for the past 5 years, I thought I would give her some advice, which she took, but that I described badly and made her mess up. Naturally, there was a conflict between the dispenser and distribution limiter when the pivot screw became too tight. This made it snap, and the ice exploded. It's really as simple as that." The only part of that story that was truly a lie was the idea that Weiss was trying to improve her combat capabilities, instead of that they were doing something stupid, but everything else when it came to how the dispenser exploded was spot on. Glynda wasn't convinced that the scenario was entirely truthful, but she didn't have Grey's expertise on the mechanics of how dust must be stored and transfused, so without any other option available to her, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms casually.

"Alright, I'll accept your story for now," she said, "but just so you're aware, I will be checking the video feed to see exactly what you're not telling me." Grey nodded seriously.

"I'm aware, Professor Goodwitch." His voice had a layer of intent behind it, making Glynda knit her eyebrows together and saunter away. When she was out of earshot, having walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, Grey let out a nervous breath he was holding in and reheated Weiss's bedpan before sinking into his chair. After being covered in weaponized ice, Weiss was quickly transported to the school's personal hospital in a shivering mess, suffering from the very dangerous consequence of playing dust chicken and risking hypothermia. She was wrapped in a number of blankets, coals smoldering under her mattress and a fire blazing next to her. Her face was red, and she had begun sneezing a few minutes ago during the professor's interrogation, her nose beginning to drip as a symptom of a cold setting in. It didn't take long for the parts of her body that were frozen to thaw out, so now she was dressed in fuzzy pajamas to retain internal body heat.

Fortunately, the worst symptoms had passed so she didn't have to worry about freezing to death anymore, but the most unbearable thing about this whole situation was Grey's relentless teasing over her loss of the game she had challenged him to. He made it aware that he felt remorse over hospitalizing her, but that she earned the playful jabs.

Ruby, on the other hand, was more concerned than anything else. She was on her scroll that the Academy had issued each of the new students, talking with Yang and Blake and letting the pair know what was happening with their new teammate. Grey typed into his own what had really happened, showed it to Ruby, and even though the team leader knew that communication with the absent members was one of the most important things she had to be aware of that moment, she paused just so she could slap Grey's arm a few times and scold him for being so careless. Weiss was touched at how protective the girl was, but could only be confused at the unremorseful way Grey responded. She knew he wasn't the kind of person who would hurt their friend and not feel bad about it, and he had expressed much earlier, but Weiss' condition really didn't seem to matter to him when Ruby verbally abused him. If he hadn't bothered to make sure she was comfortable, Weiss would have thought that he really didn't care that he put Weiss in the hospital, so when he sat down and took her hand, a connection which sent a jolt up her arm and dazed her for a second, she made sure to pay attention to what he was about to say.

"OK, darlin.' You've earned my trust, and my forgiveness for the way you acted in the woods," he said lightly. Weiss wanted to cut in when he said he forgave her, not feeling like she did anything worth forgiving her for, but then she remembered that she did treat Ruby like a worthless villain during the test. "You're actually lucky that I was the one who covered you in dust because I know how to treat the injuries from it. Working in a store that sells the most dangerous item known to mankind, first aid for dust-based accidents is pretty much the first half of the employee handbook. You'd actually be surprised how often it really happens."

"Is that why you're so calm about this?!" Ruby yelled, hanging up her scroll.

"Yes, actually!" Grey screamed back, more to match her tone as a calming gesture than a challenge, "Do you also freak out every time a black cat crosses your path?!"

Weiss thought Ruby was going to chew him out again for showing her such disrespect, but the way he matched her volume and giving a comparison of the situation to a pointless event seemed to calm the girl down. Groaning loudly, the girl sunk to her knees, whining childishly.

"I've only been team leader for a few hours and my own partner is already in the hospital!" she cried.

"I'm fine, Ruby…" her partner claimed, her voice croaking from the ammunition's earlier impact. Ruby looked up and leaned over her bedside.

"You sure?" she asked importantly. Her partner recoiled shyly from the proximity, but then smiled lightly and made the awkward gesture to pat the girl's head affectionately, trying to give some kind of show of friendship.

"Yeah, I'm in good hands." Her confirmation was followed by squeezing Grey's hand. With how tightly she had been gripping him a second ago, her knuckles turning white at the effort and Grey's glowing purple at the lost circulation, he didn't think that she could hold him any tighter, but that belief was quickly dashed with the extra pinch. He actually winced in pain. It made sense for her hands to be so strong though, considering she was a practiced swordswoman. What didn't make sense was the lack of callouses. Her hand was so soft and silky to the touch, that he just wanted to hold it as long as he could, maybe take the time later to run his fingers across the skin, play with her fingers, and maybe massage it a bit.

"Hey, Weiss," Grey spoke up, beginning his ruminations of her palm, making her muscles loosen in heavenly bliss as a wave of warm pleasure was sent up her arm, "What did you actually want to talk to me about? I'm pretty sure you didn't just want to threaten to blow me up, but I think I may have distracted you from it when I started… making fun of you…" He blushed, rubbing his neck bashfully and smiling apologetically. "So, whatever you need, I'm here. OK? If you still wanted to talk me about what you wanted to earlier, I'll listen this time. Promise."

For once, Grey didn't look so unafraid anymore. He was normally very apathetic and unabashed of anything that came his way and no matter who or what he was dealing with, but now, he seemed almost wimpy. No, not wimpy. Maybe before she met him, Weiss might have taken the inability to meet her eyes and the nervous look as a sign of weakness, but now, she could see it in him that he was actually showing her kindness. Maybe it had to do with their conflict from earlier, but she saw Grey's deference to her, allowing her to say whatever she wanted to in that moment without interruption, as nothing more than strength. So, maybe this was what a friend would do? Even though she treated him horribly earlier, he was giving her the high ground? How did that make sense? She could easily have taken advantage of the situation and made him regret his decision to trust her, because that's how everyone Weiss had ever known behaved, but she realized that after spending as long as he did with him and even with Ruby, that that wasn't how everyone acted. Perhaps, it was just unique to her social class. Weiss actually didn't know how to respond. She had only ever seen her butler Keinz treat her with this kind of respect, but after having so much conflict with them in the past, she didn't know how they would respond to what she really wanted to say. She felt that saying anything would open her up to an attack.

Suddenly, she remembered how things had worked with Keinz growing up in the Schnee household. Even though he was paid to be nice to her and her family, Weiss thought back to how much effort he had spent trying to gain Weiss's trust, and when he had finally done so, how Weiss had been so open to talking to him about her struggles with her siblings and her parents, and how much that would reward her later. After opening up to her only friend, he had treated her with compassion. The only problem with Grey and Ruby, however, was that these were normal people who weren't being paid to put up with her ruthless attitude, so she had to face the very loaded question on if she really wanted to open herself up to these two, and if the risk of being hurt by them sometime in the future was worth the small chance that they would be her friends. True friends, not just paid help. The question… hit her pretty hard. She didn't realize that breaking through this barrier for the first time in her life, stepping out of her comfort zone as Keinz had called it, would be so difficult and heart wrenching, that after turning people away her whole life that even considering letting someone in would have this kind of emotional backlash. As she considered it, she bit her lip so hard it might have bled. She had to close her eyes so tightly in an effort to drown out the rest of the world just so she wouldn't let another tear slip, and this was just in consideration of how unclear the future would be. Would the risk of pain be worth letting them in?

After thinking about it, she decided it would be. Taking a shaky breath, she spoke in her most regal and high class voice, choosing that if she was going to commit to this path, the first thing she would need to do was right some wrongs.

"Ruby," she announced rather formally, "I don't know if you will accept this, but I offer an... apology to you for my… less than friendly behavior." Weiss bit her lip, and Grey wasn't sure where she was going with this, having been more stunned than if she would have said this to him, but then her shoulders relaxed to a more casual and less business like manner, and Grey knew she was serious. She was showing genuine remorse for her behavior by switching from her usual princess mode to an almost pleasant demeanor. Grey could even tell from the next few words that she was going against a lifetime of upper crust social conditioning by altering her normal speech patterns to a more informal pattern, going from official phrasing to a loose banter. "I'm really sorry, Ruby. It isn't easy for me to say this, but I was a real bitch to you, and I don't want you to be my enemy. I don't make promises like this lightly, but if we're going to be on a team together, then I…" she faltered and had to force herself to say the next line, but it was clear she meant it, "Promise to treat you like an equal. I hope you can forgive meeEEE!"

"I forgive you Weiiiiss!" Ruby shouted excitedly like squirrels on caffeine while she jumped into Weiss's lap and hugged her tightly, kind of shaking the poor princess a bit, "It's fine! I'm so glad we finally made up and now we can be friends for real without having to force it and now I don't have to worry about you making my eyeballs into finger puppets in my sleep when we share a room together! This is perfect! Now we really can do all that stuff you said earlier in the auditorium about painting our nails and trying on clothes and talking about cute boys!"

"Like tall, buff and mysterious over here, I know!" Weiss admonished, trying to push the puppy of a teenager off of her lap, but not being able to both from being in a weakened, half frozen state, and the younger girl just being outright stronger than her.

"I know, right?!" Ruby confirmed. Grey laughed at the pair, but then noticed something and grinned again.

"You guys think I'm cute?" he teased with no small amount of sass, but they turned on him like ravenous wolves defending their freshly made kill. The pillows slamming into his face easily told him to shut up. As the pair bickered back and forth, mostly about Ruby trying to get Weiss to take a chance by doing something like pumpkin smashing in the courtyard tomorrow night, Weiss's only major objection being that she didn't want to get dirty after admitting that doing something like that could be fun, Grey laughed again, but this time to himself. Turns out he was right. All that these two needed to do was to get everything out in the open. Sure, it took longer for Weiss whereas Ruby had already forgiven her partner, but now that all their grievances had been voiced and their hatred for one another diminished, they could finally be friends.

Taking the pillow off of his face, he watched them as Ruby had somehow managed to take a place behind Weiss to braid her hair, the paler girl seeming as if she finally realized just what kind of turmoil she had agreed to judging by the distraught look on her face. She was letting out the most pitiful whines, and Ruby was even laughing at her.

"Maybe this isn't going to be so bad…" Grey said to himself.

And with that he prepared himself for the rest of the year with a socially awkward pixie on one side of him, and an fabulously upperclass debutante on the other. One loud and one calm. One fun and one proper. One rambunctious and one reserved. They were two completely opposing personalities, but if he could manage to balance them out with his own mix of the two, he could manage to keep them from blowing up the school… probably. There was just one and only one problem that stuck out in his mind.

How was he going to handle Ruby's kiss?

(...)

Yang was pissed. It wasn't the kind of anger that would have activated her semblance, but it was the kind of anger one feels when realizing that some jerk got the last hors-devors at a party and you were still hungry. When Blake had told her that Weiss was in the hospital and showed her the message from their team leader, Ruby, Yang could only laugh at their other teammate's misfortune, but still sprinted towards the safe zone without any hesitation to make sure the girl was OK. She wasn't expecting this scene, though.

"Do you see the way she looks at him?" Yang asked, grinning coyly at how Ruby couldn't keep her hands off of the guy that she had wanted to bring into her bed only a few days ago, and her disappointment burning its way through her chest violently.

"You mean Wiess? Yes, I do," Blake said happily, smiling widely and placing her hand on her hip in amazement at the development, "Even with Ruby there, they look so cute together." Yang stared at her partner incredulously.

"You're joking right? I meant Ruby. He and Ruby look cute together." There was a look of defiance in her eyes. Blake rose her eyebrow.

"Wait, you mean the girl he treats like his little sister? No way they'd ever get together. I doubt she even likes him that way."

"Oh, come on!" Yang argued, "You saw her kiss him on the highlight reel!"

"Yeah, only because she wanted to keep him from killing her."

"You don't think she could have done that with that huge scythe of hers?"

"Not with the nevermore stalking them. As soon as she put her weapon against him, it would have made his adrenaline spike so hard that the grimm would have zeroed in on them almost immediately and sentenced them to death. The kiss was the only way to prevent that."

"Look, I know my sister, and I can tell she likes him."

"And it took you how long to realize that? Look at them." Blake wrapped her arm around Yang's shoulder and pointed at the group in the infirmary where Weiss was now wrapping her hands around Grey's to teach him how to juggle a knife properly. "Look at how she leans into him like he's the only thing that gives her life meaning. Look at how she smiles at him everytime he looks at her. That's not forced. That smile just appears every time he gives her any attention. They're going to end up together, I can just tell." Yang scoffed and slapped Blake's arm off of her.

"No way! With Ruby going after him, there's no way Weiss is going to get that fine hunk of meat first."

"Yang, you're drooling," Blake giggled, watching her friend ogle the object of her sister's affection, and admittedly, she was right. Grey definitely was attractive.

"I'm not going to steal him from her though. I'm not a horrible sister."

"Even if you did jump in, he's still going to end up with Weiss."

"Nuh-uh! He's going to end up with Ruby!"

"Weiss!"

"Ruby!"

The girls had to take a minute and separate. They were arguing so hard that a fight fight between them seemed almost inevitable, and they were worried for a second that the others would have heard them debating their future relationships, but after checking on them, the pair realized that the target of discussion was too busy flirting to realize they were being spied on. Yang had decided to watch them a bit more carefully. Blake was busy taking notes in a kind of journal that she had pulled from a secret compartment in her weapon, Gambol Shroud, so she didn't notice when Yang smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile either. Instead of being one of any kind of kindness or friendship, Yang cracked her knuckles and went over to her partner. An idea was forming in her head, and true to her nature, she was going to make this competition between her sister and Weiss and add a bit more risk to it for her and the other half of the audience to this romantic comedy.

"I have a proposition," she proclaimed to goth, rubbing her shoulders in preparation for the upcoming challenge. Blake was in mid sentence, but as soon as she heard that Yang had an offer for her, she stopped writing, and closed the book with the pencil being used as a place marker, looking up with fiercely combative eyes.

"Let's hear it," Blake replied calmly. Yang held up one finger as if to get her opponent's attention.

"Let's make a bet. If Weiss ends up with Grey, you win, and if Ruby ends up with Grey, I win." Blake crossed her legs sassily, crossing her arms.

"That sounds fine to me. What are the stakes?" Yang began pacing in thought.

"If you win, I'll… Let you borrow my motorcycle, any time you want?" Blake deadpanned and yawned to show her disapproval of the offer, making Yang sneer. "Fine, then. What do you want if you win?" Blake smiled dangerously, remembering the moment she met the flirtatious girl in the Emerald Forest during the exam, first seeing her just before she lost it at the Ursa she was previously messing with.

"If Weiss and Grey end up dating, I want you to shave your head. Or at least cut it short." Blake added the last bit quickly, knowing right after she said it that it was too much and amending the offer. Yang, her hair being her most prized possession, was understandably addled. She began shaking, her golden aura rising around her like flame and her eyes turning their dark shade of crimson, but with her jaw set in determination, she agreed. Blake grinned darkly but coquettishly. "Now it's your turn. What do you want if you win?"

"Oh, after that, I am so not making this easy on you. If Ruby and Grey end up together," she emphasized Ruby's name, "Then… you have to go on a date with me!" Blake jumped at the offer. She had no doubts that Yang was a very outlandish and flirty person, but she had no idea that the much more seductive girl would make that kind of condition. She didn't even get the impression that Yang swung that way. Still, if she were to back out of the deal now, it would be showing a level of inferiority that Blake just wasn't capable of committing to, and out of stubbornness more than anything else, she dug in her heels and refused to back down, glaring at her partner's sly grin.

"You've got yourself a deal," Blake agreed, growling lowly. With a fire in both of their eyes, the two shook hands as a final pact that this competition had begun, and turned their eyes back to the trio in the hospital, all three of them somehow ending up in the bed together, napping peacefully with Weiss leaning against Grey's shoulder with her back turned to him but her head turning into the crook of his neck, and Ruby hanging off of him heavily with her arms wrapped around his neck and her head on his chest. Grey, being the center of it all, had one arm wrapped around both of them, seeming almost protective of his new, unofficial teammates. Staring at the group, Blake and Yang couldn't help but feel uneasy. As each of them caught a glimpse of what their opponent had been saying about their preferred match up, both of the girl's observing the sleeping arrangement could only think of one thing simultaneously.

 _I am so screwed._

 **I did say I removed the word limit, didn't I? Did you think I was joking? Believe me, when I say that I had a lot to talk about, I HAD A LOT TO TALK ABOUT. Sure, I could have just broken this up into two separate chapters, but it just didn't seem right considering how this chapter was supposed to be timed with the end of Beacon's entry exam. Please note, other acts will not work that way. Acts 2-5 will end when and how I say.**

 **Now that that's done and the crew is officially enrolled in Beacon, and everyone is set up for their future roles and character arcs, (remember that this is only chapter 4 so that means that what is set up now is not all there will be), I will bring this to a close. See you in the next Act, my Beautiful Hunters!**


	6. Act 2, Chapter 1

**(A/N) I am so sorry this is almost a week late, you guys! I'd like to say that life got in the way and I just distracted with something like finals, or like I was having surgery or something, but… well, the truth is much worse. Ya see, when I wrote the first draft, I made a copy and labeled it "edit" for the second draft that I would later publish and I just ended up forgetting about it? I made the copy that I would edit, and never actually edited it… Yeah. So, naturally, when I went to publish this on the 31st, I opened it up and realized, "wow! This is a pile of crap!" so I've spent the last few days sitting at my computer editing this chapter. I'm so sorry, guys.**

 **Either way, I hope you enjoy this.**

Act 2

Chapter 1

"I don't think this is right," Ren told his three comrades as they set the table in the most romantic setting in the entire school, the botanical gardens, "Manipulating others into doing something they're not ready for just doesn't seem like a good idea." Nora jumped down from the nearby archways after setting up a spotlight and rigging the sunlamps to respond to the touch of a button on her scroll.

"Oh come on, Ren!" She whined, jumping onto his shoulders lithely but being too light to make him falter in his mission, "You know nothing is going to happen if we don't push them towards it. They're just too… mellow."

"That's right," Grey affirmed, stepping in with a special meal he had cooked just for the occasion and setting it in the middle of the round table but making sure not to mess up the pink tablecloth, "Jaune is completely clueless when it comes to Pyrrha's feelings, so he's not going to make a move, and Pyrrha is just too… _Pyrrha_ to do it herself. The only way they're going to end up together is if we help them. As Nora said, we just need to give them a little push. Just a little nudge is all it's going to take."

"I don't think this qualifies as little," Ren questioned.

"Hey, trust me," Grey grinned, wiping his hands on his apron, "This will work. I know my cousin. The only thing I'm worried about is Jaune. The guy is as awkward as a penguin renting a tuxedo, so he's definitely the wild card in this plan."

"Psh! It'll be fine!" Nora said casually, waving off Grey's concerns, "He's not that big of a dope."

"Key word being," Ren said, crossing his arms after he finished setting the table, "'Not that big' of a dope."

"Let's be honest, though," Grey said, leaning against the table, waiting for the race to start, and knitting his eyebrows in a serious expression, "Jaune is one of the best leaders I've ever seen. He's smart, he thinks, he observes and he can make plan according to any situation. Not only that but he can change anything he has on the fly as if it were nothing. He's an exemplary tactician, and honestly, despite his lack of combat ability, he completely terrifies me." Running his hand through his hair, he thought for a moment before rubbing the grizzle that had formed on his chin, unaware of the nervous glance Nora and Ren shared between each other as they remembered that they were talking to a walking nuclear weapon. "Actually, that's not even the best part about him. What makes him one of the best team leaders in the school, if not the best, is how treats people. He's a great guy, really nice and quirky and easy to get along with, but it goes beyond that. He knows exactly what to say to anyone to keep your spirits up, how to comfort you, inspire you, motivate you, and I'm pretty sure he could completely psychologically destroy you if he wanted to but come on. That won't happen. What makes him a great leader is that he's just… he cares about everyone, no matter what, and I'm sure both of you can agree with that."

Ren and Nora looked at each other, thinking about what Grey had said. Sure, Jaune was quirky and awkward and not that great of a fighter, nor was he entirely confident in himself, and maybe he backed down from anything too difficult, but thing is, the utility pawn was right. Grey had perfectly explained everything great about Jaune. Ruby and Weiss had been having issues, as always, a few weeks ago, particularly when they first moved into the dorms, and he since Grey was on a mission for Glynda at the time, Jaune stepped in with a firm voice and ended their conflict peacefully. When Cardin had been bullying him, Jaune put himself in danger to protect his team, and then risked his life just to protect his tormentor. Team JNPR was also considered to be the happiest team at Beacon, having no issues because Jaune could resolve them as soon as they came. When in battle during any kind training exercise, Jaune coordinated every one of his teammates perfectly to take down every single weak point in the enemy's lines. Even beyond that, he coordinated his own efforts to provide immediate aid to any other team that was in danger, then head back to the front lines wherever it was necessary. He was a tactical prodigy and a relational saint. It was safe to say that he was friends with everyone at Beacon. All except for Team CRDL who were known as the school bullies, but with a team like them who only valued strength and seeing such a weak man become one of the most beloved personalities in the academy, their hatred of him was to be expected.

Then, there was Pyrrha. As the group waited for their cue, Grey explained to them that when they first met, Jaune was an overbearing, occasionally inappropriate and audacious flirt with almost every girl he saw, and Pyrrha was no exception. Perhaps with her celebrity status, men hitting on her could be expected to be a daily occurrence, but the thing that attracted her to Jaune, not in spite of his shameless attitude but because of it, was that he didn't even know who she was and treated her the same as he did everyone else, like she was a normal person and not a goddess among men. Even when Jaune figured out who she was after Weiss referenced Pyrrha's cereal endorsement, his moment of fan worship only lasted a brief moment. He just didn't care about her status. Pyrrha was used to being an idol. She was a very prominent public figure, twice as kind as she was attractive, and average citizens and celebrities alike fawned over like a divine relic that had to be worshiped, and Jaune stood out to her because he treated her genuinely, just like he would anyone else. As Pyrrha's big brother figure, Grey noted pleasantly noted that.

They were the kind of people who you know they should be together, but never actually took that step, so Grey had taken it upon himself to try to push them towards one another. They were perfect for each other, but they clearly needed help. Nora shared this thought, so when she caught Grey making plans to ambush them with this date, this spontaneous matchmaking, she didn't hesitate to join him, even dragging a reluctant Ren into the mix.

A blast of wind suddenly shot through the gardens, followed by a small cyclone of rose petals. The trio could see the mist of crimson causing the gust, stirring up the petals in an organized direction, leaving a trail of them leading from the door to the table and peppering the floor around it. When the mist had finished its artwork, the mist surrounded Grey's head until the visual effect died down enough to reveal Ruby mounting Grey's shoulders like a champ, admiring her work as she rested her chin on her fist on top of her friend's head.

"I think I did a-okay!" she said confidently, "What do you guys think?" Ren was the first to speak up.

"It's going to be a huge mess to clean up," he groaned. Nora smacked him.

"Don't be a buzzkill, Ren," she admonished, then waved her hands in his face hypnotically, "Just sit back and enjoy the romance as it commences. We will NOT leave here without someone getting smooched. Let them snog in peace, Ren! You don't want to be known as the guy who's against love, do you? Huh? Mr. Anti-Cupid?" The quiet boy looked like he was about to argue, but before he could complain, an alarm like a fog horn went off on all of the group's scrolls.

"Places everybody!" Grey commanded harshly. Everyone sprinted to where Grey had planned for them to go without a moment's hesitation, even Ren who although he hid his true feelings well, was deeply invested in Jaune and Pyrrha's relationship, and even though he thought this was the wrong way to go about it, he wasn't about to fight it.

Nora was the first one to hit her mark. Her hammer was hooked up to the fuse box and her semblance would allow her to control each and every electric mechanism in the gardens with a flick of her wrist. Ren hid himself in the back of the greenhouse where more mechanical tools would be used to aid in their mission, being the best one to stealthily applicate their uses. Ruby and Grey on the other hand, hid behind the nearest wall. Ruby was delegated to record the new couple's date so someone could turn it into a romantic dvd to show them afterwards, whereas Grey used the position as a vantage point to give orders over the group's scrolls when necessary. They waited for a moment, quietly. Everyone's heart was pounding as they waited for the call to arms, feeling as if they were going to war instead of managing their friend's date. It was the calm before the storm. Then, Jaune walked into the gardens. The poor farm boy had no clue exactly what was going on as he examined the area, the rose petals scattered around him, the dimmed lights, and the candle lit dinner before him. His face was as red as Rubies cape.

"This is… a little much," he said incredulously, pulling a folded piece of paper out his pocket and reading it again for probably the thousandth time that day, "Why would they ask to meet me here?"

"What did you put in that letter, anyway?" Ruby asked Grey, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"Oh, just stuff Pyrrha would say if she wasn't such a pansy," Grey explained in an equally quiet voice, "Stuff like how she fell for him the moment they met, how he loved the way he treated her, how he was an amazing friend… Sure, I had to leave Pyrrha's name out of it, but obviously I did my job right since he came. Now we just have to wait for my baby cousin." As if on cue, Pyrrha crashed through the door shortly after Jaune, brandishing both her sword and her shield like she was about ready to challenge the armies of Hell.

"Grey," Nora's voice came over his scroll, "What exactly did you tell Pyrrha?" He grinned psychotically when he answered.

"I used my private communication link that Glynda gave me to pretend I was a rogue hunter that had kidnapped her crush," he explained with a cheeky tone to his voice, "Just watch, dangit." Pyrrha's eyes darted throughout the garden, seeking out any potential threats to destroy, until her eyes fell on her team leader. She didn't sheathe her weapons or even let the famous Arsen-Nikos glare drop from her face as she backed up to him, covering him from any attack from any angle.

"Jaune?" she asked urgently, "Are you alright? Where is the mercenary that kidnapped you?" Jaune blinked at her, now beyond confused as to what was going on.

"Pyrrha?" he stammered, "What are you talking about? What's going on? What are you even doing here?"

The guardian of Team JNPR blinked back at him, possibly even more confused than her leader was, enough so that her guard dropped slightly when she heard Jaune's perplexity. It took her a moment to gather her wits. Since she arrived, she was so deep into battle mode that she didn't take complete stock of the area, and just then decided to observe, and she finally saw the romantic setting. The roses, the candles, the smell of roast duck and alfredo pasta hit her senses like a round from a military tank, and a blush that coordinated well with the fiery red of her hair crept up to her cheeks.

"Oh… OH," she sputtered, "Oh my god, this is… wow. OK, um… Jaune, what is this?" The two stared at each other for a long moment in silence, unsure what to do, clueless as to what to say, both of their faces burning on the brink of tears. The tension was so thick that if anyone moved an inch, they felt the earth would swallow them up. Jaune broke the silence with a loud and awkward laugh.

"OK guys," he called out to the emptiness of the area, not truly knowing if anyone was there but accurately assuming the possibility, "This was a good prank. It was fun while it lasted but you can come out now." Pyrrha looked like she wasn't sure if she should be hurt or embarrassed. He didn't set this up? Even if he didn't, did he really not want to go along with it?

"If any of you move," Grey growled over the intercom to his team, hopefully quietly enough so the group's prey wouldn't hear him, "I will personally make you learn ten thousand ways to say 'sorry' and 'thank you sir may I have another." The four heard Nora giggle on her end.

"Kinky," she joked.

"Shut up, Nora," the other three snapped at her.

The group watched in silence as their friends shifted uncomfortably in each other's presence. They wouldn't meet one another's eyes. The group of four who had devised this encounter gritted their teeth in frustration as they watched Jaune continue to prance around and call out to anyone who may have been watching, preferably who this setup was really meant for. He knew he wasn't likely to get an answer, but he kept calling anyway. His crush on the other hand, now calmed down from her earlier murderous intent, closed up her body and rubbed her shoulders nervously, probably feeling ignored and unnoticed by the man she desperately wanted the attention of. She was thinking, like she was trying to push herself towards something. Grey knew almost immediately what that was.

"Nora?" He asked.

"Already on it," she confirmed, then flickered a spotlight on and off over the table to try to boost her confidence. Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at the fine dining, to each other, then the realization that this environment had been made specifically with them in mind made their eyes go wide. Jaune rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, and smiled uncomfortably at his teammate.

"So…" he stammered, "I… I think I know what's going on, Pyrrha…"

"Well…" she said quietly with a large amount of hope and nervousness in her voice, "While this dinner is here, we might as well not let it go to waste, right?" Jaune looked at her, more stunned than anyone else in the room felt at the warrior's sudden outburst of confidence. A wave of tension in the onlookers' chests had been removed, now replaced with anticipation. How would Jaune react? Pyrrha had just taken the bait and officially asked Jaune out, so would he say yes and start their relationship, or say no and break her heart?

"I… I guess we can…" he said quietly.

"Guys, do your thing!" Grey commanded. Things were pushed into motion then, Nora and Ren both fulfilling their roles. Nora sent her biological electricity through the fuse box, controlling all of the lights to dim so low they were almost shut off, except for a single spotlight over the couple's table. At the same time, on a separate system, Ren flipped a few switches on a hijacked soundboard in the very back of the garden. Grey had come to the gardens the day previously to set up a specially made system designed just for the occasion and hooked it up to a spare generator he had found, and thanks to Ren, the best romantic music playlist ever devised started to play.

Grey watched with a grin breaking across his cheeks as he gave commands to his three companions, keeping his eyes on his cousin and her soon to be boyfriend as they slowly grew closer and closer. It took a few minutes, but Jaune finally came to grips with what was happening. While their favorite song played over the air, the blonde shakingly poured his woman a glass of sparkling cider, to which she gratefully took, crossing her legs casually and leaning forward with a bright smile. Things were finally going her way. A blush creeping up her cheeks, she watched joyously as Jaune returned her expression and they began talking as something other than friends and allies, Jaune at once treating her not as a teammate, but as a woman, and Pyrrha suddenly able to take that one terrifying step outside of the friend zone. Grey, on the other hand, was doing everything he could to make this movement as perfect as he could. The garden operated on its own clockwork schedule, so with Ren having done his part on the sound system, he used his dexterous skills as a huntsman and focused on discretely taking care of the plants while Nora shut down the sprinklers and humidifiers as they began to operate, trying to avoid any distractions the couple might have, while still taking care of the plants. The poisons and medicines made from them were very important to the school, so they couldn't let them die just so they could play matchmaker.

It didn't take long before Jaune and Pyrrha were laughing in one another's arms. After they finished up their dinner, Ren switched the playlist to a more playful sound, and the pair began dancing with each other, holding their arms around their partner and allowing their bodies to mold into one. They partied to a few songs, but at a suggestion from Ruby, Ren switched to a slower, more affectionate tone, which ended in Pyrrha wrapped up at Jaune's chest, her head buried under the crook of his neck, with the dreamiest grin she had ever worn breaking out across her lips.

"This is just perfect…" she declared, "But what is that beeping…?"

(...)

 _Beep… Beep… BEEEEEP!_ A second ago, the room had only been filled with groaning as the most annoying response to one of the most grating noises human and faunus kind will ever know began repeating, but what made everyone jump out of their skin was the sound of the alarm clock hitting the wall and shattering into pieces.

"Are you kidding me?!" Grey yelled, his aura spreading across the dorm so aggressively that the furniture shook like an earthquake, rousing the rest of Team RWBY from their sleep. Yang had fallen from the top bunk of her bed and face planted on the ground, yet somehow managed to stay asleep, Blake had leapt from the covers and was now hiding underneath her own bunk, peeking out behind the mesh bedskirt, Ruby was flailing behind her curtain while shouting a tirade of angry curses, and Weiss was doing nothing more than glaring at him from across the room, holding the covers up to her chest almost protectively.

"What's the matter with you?!" Weiss was the first one to shout. The B and Y of Team RWBY were too incapacitated to do anything and the R was still fumbling with her drapes.

"I was having the most pleasant dream you could ever imagine…" Grey grumbled, rubbing his dry eyes stiffly.

"I swear if it was about Glynda again…" Weiss let the threat hang in the air. Everyone on the Team, particularly Yang who took an invested interest, knew about Grey's recurring dream about the school's naughty teacher, but the other three had expressed how much they didn't want to hear about it. To respond to the accusation, Grey gave her a deadpanned look and checked under his sleeping bag.

"Uh, nope. All dry down here." He looked back up and could only smirk satisfyingly at the rich girl's embarrassed blush, but before she could throw something at him from her nightstand, probably a knife since she had enough of them to make Ruby, the team's self proclaimed weapon's addict, jealous, Grey stood up in his briefs and white tee shirt and explained what had happened with Arkos in his unconscious mind and how to try to make it happen for real. To make up for making them panic, though, he decided to make the girls' morning coffee and tea as he explained. Blake, the ever despondent goth child of the clique, decided to stay silent and try to listen in from behind the bathroom door as she brushed her teeth. As soon as Grey got to the part about the rose petals, Ruby woke up fully and jumped out of bed to listen more closely, but Weiss waited patiently in bed for Grey to bring her a mug of coffee- milk and two sugars which he memorized quickly -but even though this seemed like he was waiting on her hand and foot, this special treat wasn't unique to her. Even though he did this for her every morning, he made it clear that he would do for it literally anyone else if they asked for it. Weiss just the only one who had taken advantage of the claim.

After living with him for a few weeks, the girls were surprised at just how caring of a personality such a dark presence like Grey could be. Even though he was a demon on the battlefield, often being compared to a living nuclear warhead, he was a complete angel everywhere else. He was the kind of person who always took someone else's point of view and feelings into account before he made any decision, and tailored his approach depending on what he felt that person needed and what would be best for them, refusing to push his own standard on them if they didn't want it. For Weiss, he let her do her own thing, but always paid attention to her, talked with her, brought her something if she asked for it, but always put his foot down if he felt he was being taken advantage of, knowing she needed a bit more attention than most others regardless of how the attention was expressed; she was lonely. For Ruby, he would be more energetic in the mornings by making the routine fun for her. This would mean fast paced music, throwing discarded clothes at her face, maybe wrestling with her on the floor to keep her entertained; she was affectionate. For Yang, who often slept in too late like today, he kicked her a few times until she woke up. When that didn't work, he started fondling her hair, pretending to style it, which infuriated her and would be the only thing that would wake her up most days; she was lazy. For Blake, he was even more hands off than he was with Weiss. He would just set a cup of tea on her nightstand, maybe a textbook they would need for homework later or a fictional one he thought she would enjoy, and ignored her until he felt she needed something else. If that were the case, he'd ask, but mostly he'd wait for her to say something.

In some ways, he was the team's mom, but he just felt he was just doing what a good friend should do. Is listening to someone really that outrageous?

The dorm was surprisingly big, even for five students, but with everything the girls and Grey, the unofficial fifth member, had brought from home, it was noticeably much smaller than it should have been, to the point of being uncomfortably stifling. To alleviate this, Ruby had the idyllic and foolish plan to make bunk beds that would never pass any safety codes. Ruby's was tied to the ceiling with an elaborate system of hooks and lashes, covered in a curtain to give her a bit of privacy and make the space her own, and would probably break the ceiling eventually. Yang's was atop Blake's using an unstable pillar of books precariously placed on each of the bedposts, making the bed most likely to crush the girl underneath with the slightest breeze, and yet both of the top bunks were surprisingly stable. Who knew breaking the laws of physics was so easy?

Aside from the prominent safety hazard every night, living together wasn't all that easy at first. It went without saying that every roommate has their own quirks, behaviors, and wants to live in their own space their own way, but most of the gripes that came from the arrangement showed them just how incompatible they were to live together. They were all so different that every minor gripe usually exploded into a full blown war. Across the hall, Team JNPR, whom had transitioned rather nicely, tried to help their hallmates but with no success and often with the other Team's anger ending up directed at them. When Ren tried to ask Yang to turn down her music so Weiss could study, Yang burned him. When Jaune tried to ask Ruby to try to be quiet when playing her games so Yang could hear her music, Ruby launched him back into his own dorm with crescent rose. When Pyrrha tried to convince Weiss to allow her compatriots to maintain their right to be messy, even she got a stern lecture on cleanliness and efficiency. Nora probably had the best luck when talking to Blake about not mixing her books with Ruby's video games, but Blake still turned on her with the violent fury of an alley cat. Nora just responded in kind, but the problem with that was that forcing the other person into submission wasn't going to be healthy for the team in the long run.

Eventually, the girls were able to compromise so they would be able to live peacefully. It wasn't any secret that for the team to actually be successful, they would have to be able to get along, and that meant trying to find some way to pull their battlefield chemistry into the dorm room so they would find some way to settle arguments peacefully. Of course, considering Beacon was combat school, peace wasn't an option. The physical education of Beacon was meant to train the students to be effective warriors, so instead of using diplomacy to settle a dispute, they used trial by combat. They were being trained to be huntsman, to be able to take down grimm and humans alike, so whenever the occasion came where the class would be sparring each other instead of a training simulation, whichever pair of the girls was having problems would go at each other until a victor emerged who would then be get to decide how things in the dorm would be run. It was a clearly the best way for these passionate individuals to relieve stress.

Grey didn't end up moving his sleeping bag into their dorm until after they learned not to try to kill each other every hour. The only issue now, was trying to make it to classes on time.

(...)

Professor Goodwitch wrote down a few notes with a swish and stepped over to the officiator's seat, Yang and Grey stepping over to different sides of the arena to set up for the fight. This had been the first time the pair had ever fought, only having been picked for this match after running in after the class was half over since Yang took too long in the shower and Grey didn't want her to be the only one to get scolded, so they analyzed their opponent carefully. Grey saw how she was light on her feet, switching her stance carelessly, without thought, with one hand up and the other by her ribs, symbolizing her mastery as a martial artist. Unfortunately, it didn't come naturally to her. It was clear by the way her back hand, her dominant one, was practically bouncing up and down, instinctively trying to guard her jaw, that she had problems with her defense. As for Grey, he had the opposite problem. Whereas Yang was agile and lithe as a brawler, Grey style had him rooted in place, only moving to avoid something he couldn't defend against, like a last resort. The two of them were the top two unarmed fighters at Beacon Academy, but if they were ever compared to the professional or graduate level, this sparring match would seem like little more than an intense slap fight, every flaw and mistake in their technique being noticeable to real huntsmen.

With a ding of the bell, Yang sprinted forward. Grey thought she would use her concussion shells to get a burst of speed forward, even giving a bit of leverage behind her first punch, but Grey was wrong, because she had waited until her opponent was just within striking distance before she used that technique. With a blast behind her, she shot forward. The shield bearer reflexively brought up a wall to guard against a punch towards his head, but that was just a feint and he was rewarded immediately with a knee to his stomach. He was propelled backwards from the force, but used a shield to stop his momentum, landing on his feet, only to get hit by a series of concussion shells from Yang's gauntlets. Yang had create distance, a fatal flaw for boxers, and Grey mistakenly refused that advantage. He had to get the upperhand.

With no small amount of effort, he expanded a bubble a force from his body in all directions. Creating the three dimensional barrier wasn't that difficult. The hard part was actually trying to keep it in place and still be able to fight with it. Yang tried to punch through it, but Grey held his own. For Yang, with the current power she possessed, trying to break through his aura guard was like trying to punch through a concrete pillar, since as long as he wasn't moving or fighting back, he could focus his effort on strengthening his defense and repair the damage to it faster than Yang could cause it. The problem was that with his barrier around him, Grey couldn't fight back. That meant that things were at a stand still. Turtling through an assault wasn't going to defeat your opponent, so he examined Yang's moves and waited for her to open her guard, and suddenly, his patience was rewarded. Yang put all of her power into one aerial strike, so Grey turned off his semblance, and when her strike missed its target, Grey made his move. He grabbed her arm, pushed against her elbow, and slammed her into the ground beneath him. From here, he launched himself into the air and went to slam a shield downward where she was pinned to the ground, but she had quickly moved outside the range of the blast, and connect with him again, returning to her barrage of attacks from earlier.

Yang was too slow, though. Grey righted himself quickly enough to put up his guard before she returned to the offense. She threw a few punches, a few jabs and a cross followed by an uppercut, stepped forward to stomp his foot which he back stepped from, turned to elbow him, and he managed to block everything. He refused to use his shields. Yang was able to stay on the offensive, but she wasn't as effective against him at this close of a distance, so he wasn't about to give her the opportunity to shoot him again. When she threw a kick to his jaw, Grey saw an opening and began his own attack. He parried the kick and landed a jab to Yang's nose, then to her stomach, headbutted her, then uppercutted her with a series of shields adding to the impact. Yang was airborne now, unable to breath, unable to think, completely dazed. Blinded, she felt Grey land a powerful kick on her that sent her flying to the ground, followed up the same semblance technique as before, creating a crater in the stone tiles underneath her.

Grey was too slow. The minute his feet hit the ground, he charged her, knowing he had only a limited window of opportunity to win, but when he charged, Yang's fiery golden aura knocked him off his feet.

It was Yang's biggest advantage. The more of a beating she took, the more of a beating she could return, and she wasn't about to waste this strength her opponent granted her. If he was on the ground, then she could easily beat him. Pushing herself forward, she pulled her fist back and put everything she had into one punch that Grey wouldn't be able to block. He tried. He planted his feet and put up the thickest shield he could manage, but the wall shattered like glass against her might, the punch landing easily and sending him back against the wall. Grey wasn't done yet, though. Because of his semblance, he had one of the strongest auras in the school, and one punch even from Yang's super form, her hair glowing like the sun, wasn't enough to take him down. He righted himself for another attack, and thrust his arms forward. A loud ratatatata sounded across the arena as 5mm shells tore at Yang's aura, but they only served to make her stronger. Grey cursed himself. As Yang grabbed his fist and began slamming him around like a ragdoll or a bullwhip, he could only think about how using a machine gun to try to slow her down was a really bad idea while consciousness slowly left him.

"Miss Xiao-Long, that's enough!" Professor Goodwitch shouted at the girl, "Yang!" The brawler stopped when she heard Professor Goodwitch use her first name, a familiarity she always avoids. Her aura left her in waves at the woman's panicked face. It was a slow process for Yang to come down from a super form that potent, but when she was finally able to process the other students running around in fright, grabbing first aid kits and calling up the infirmary, when she saw Grey's broken, bloodied body inches away from death, she realized how badly she messed up. She couldn't move, she couldn't breath. She fell to her knees in shock, and Ruby and Blake had to pull her to her feet and keep her from losing her mind once more.

A few hours later, Grey was sipping on some chicken noodle soup, made special by Ruby, while being bedridden and surrounded by teams RWBY and JNPR as they doted over his injuries. His right arm was in a sling, his ribs covered in medicinal herbs, a brace around his neck, one leg propped up by a hospital pulley, a cast over his left arm, and the majority of his face was covered in bandages. Pyrrha was glaring at Yang, who was in tears over the development and promising to make it up to Grey. The champion, unable to process her frustration over her cousin's condition, had made it a mental note to take Yang down in the practice arena next chance she got, even if that meant her own expulsion. The team leaders, Jaune and Ruby, tried to keep the peace.

"At least you know what works, right Yang?" Jaune said good naturedly even though he worried it would spark more conflict.

"That's right," Grey affirmed, giving the farm boy a frustrated look since that was the opposite of what he should have said, "You do that in a real fight, and you'll easily secure a victory. Although, if it's a tournament bout, you just have to make sure you know when to stop, or else…" he gestured to his face with a joking smirk, and Yang managed to laugh through her tears and wiped her face.

"Yeah, I guess so," she agreed, laughing through her quiet sobbing and wiping her face.

"I still think Grey should have won," Nora said, wearing a sultry nurse's outfit and playing with a syringe so big it made Grey's breath hitch in his throat, "The only real mistake he made was using a machine gun attachment instead of something stronger."

"I still don't think I would have won Nora," Grey mused, "With Super Yang being an issue, the only thing that would really help me would either be to keep her at a distance which would only make her stronger because I would have to use my guns and semblance to do it, or getting in close and not allowing myself to be hit once until I take her down which isn't that good of an idea either considering she's a close combat expert. At best, all I can really do is wear her down slowly and pray."

"And that's even if her aura has a limit to it," Blake spoke up, putting down her medical textbook, "If she gets more powerful the more damage she suffers, to me, that sounds like she can't be defeated because no matter how much damage she takes, she'll still be able to fight. It's like the only way you'll be able to ever beat her is to hit her so hard that even her semblance can't withstand it."

"YEAH!" Nora cheered with a gravely voice, pumping her arms up to flex her biceps in preparation for her next fight with Yang. Jaune nodded thoughtfully. If anyone in the school would be able to take her down, it was probably going to be Nora.

"Guys, stop! You're making me blush!" Yang pleaded, turning around and covering her burning cheeks. Pyrrha scoffed, having been silent up until that point.

"Oh, yes. Please stop, guys," she complained sarcastically, "You have to remember that if she's not careful, she might get angry enough at you to put you in the hospital. Oh, hello, Grey! When did you get here?" She turned to her cousin with a dangerous smile, but recoiled when he turned to her with a look of pure fury in his eyes, his eyes shifting a bit to resemble his other half. He wanted to tell her off, but with the tension that was already in the room, he decided to play things a different way.

"Hey, Jaune, do you think you could go to Team RWBY's room and get my notebook for Professor Port's class?" He said, leaning towards the boy so he could hear him better but not taking his eyes off of his rude cousin. "It's all kind of cluttered so you'll have to take Pyrrha with you so she can help you navigate through everything."

"Yeah, sure. Let's go Pyrrha," he agreed, knowing full well what his friend was doing. Jaune's partner looked like she wanted to argue, but the girl looked between everyone, judged the mood of the room, and realized she was only making things worse so she decided to leave with her friend. She wasn't normally able to process strong emotions like this one. Having spent years in the spotlight, she had to remain restrained and dignified, keeping up the perfect little warrior princess motif, so seeing her best friend almost die during training made her lose her normal composure. When she understood exactly what impact her frustration was having on everyone, she felt terrible. She would have to apologize to Yang later. The guilt would kill her otherwise, if the burning pain of regret didn't do it first, or the rejection at Grey trying to get rid of her. She looked over her shoulder briefly, a sad look in her eye, before following Jaune outside of the hospital. Once the door was closed, Grey remembered something in the following silence.

"Wait a minute…" he said to himself, thinking back on earlier that day, "Hey, guys. I have an idea." Grey put on one of the deadliest, most conniving smirks anyone in the room had ever seen on him, and Ren could immediately understand what was going through his mind judging by that potent, very specific feel of his aura, a feeling that was worrisome enough to make him speak up.

"This has to do with Arkos, doesn't it?" Ren asked, his eyes opening widely. Grey only answered the phrase by widening his grin and pulling everyone into a huddle.

"So here's the plan…"

 **(A/N) Now, be honest here. Was this everything you expected or not? Did I build it up properly? Did I blow your socks off or make you prepare to have your socks blown off? Am I going to receive death threats for screwing with your heads on Arkos?**

 **Besides that, the school setting and redoing it the way I have has given me a lot of ideas on how to better what I had planned previously, how to redo the events I put in, how to make the character development and relationships more believable and just BETTER, as well as filling in some plot holes I couldn't answer from the original script. Some of these ideas I have will be in the next chapter, some will be sprinkled throughout Act 2 and others within the rest of the book, but just so I can sate you with some kind of ambiguously stated plot details to keep your interest, a new major character will be introduced in Act 2 Chapter 2 that I had originally debuted halfway through Act 4, but made no sense that far in the story. She, and her character's backstory, and her relationship to the main RWBY cast are all not only plot relevant, but explain a huge half of how the story is supposed to work, the lore behind it, etc. BUT just so we're clear, next chapter will only be her debut. Very little, if any details of what I just listed about this character will be explained next chapter.**

 **For now, be satisfied that I can promise you a good story. The first version of Act 2 was so poorly written that it was even shorter than Act 1 and started out on a point of major conflict that should have come only after the story had, ya know, progressed. Last time, what I did was just start the Act off with a failed concept and ran with it, making the entire Act rely on that one idea instead of diversifying it and progressing an actual storyline. Basically, there was no plot in the first version- just conflict that ended with a poorly resolved premise. All of Act 2 was literally nothing more than an exposition dump, and my Beautiful Hunters deserve more than that. Believe me, I know I pissed off a lot of Arkos shippers, myself included, by making the most romantic scene imaginable for the pair a dream sequence, but this actually opened up the door for proper plot progression, better plot progression. Granted, I could have just made Arkos canon in this chapter, but no. Considering how the story is going to progress, this is much better, and you're going to have to trust me on that until certain events happen later for you to see that for yourself. Arkos will be canon, but not yet.**

 **Have a pleasant month, Beautiful Hunters! May the favor of the gods be with you.**


	7. Act 2, Chapter 2

**(A/N) So, this chapter follows the main RWBY plot just slightly, and I kind of took a bit of liberty with it because why would I ever follow the plot precisely as the main canon was written when there is one major difference that could change anything and everything at any point? Seriously, with an entirely new main character, Grey, added to the cast, I not only have no reason to follow the main plot, it would actually make no sense for me to do so. Something that big is bound to change something. Particularly, the Butterfly Effect would most definitely come into play and alter the entire timeline from nothing more than his existence, let alone his actions with the characters. I'm just saying this so, when I reference one of the biggest episodes in the show's history, you won't think I'm copping out- it would make absolutely no sense if I didn't change up the main timeline slightly.**

 **Besides that, this is the first chapter where another character, very important character will debut. I'm not saying how important to the plot she is, but at the very least, she isn't negligible, otherwise I wouldn't have built her up this much since my last author's note. I tried to give her the most bare minimum info possible, though, so see if you can figure out anything about her, and put your theories in a review. Try to be as specific as possible, and I'll commend the one who is most accurate and dedicate the next chapter to them. Or at least the one who gives me a better idea than the one I currently have.**

 **With that out of the way, enjoy this latest installment of War of Onyx and Aber, Beautiful Hunters.**

 **Act 2**

Chapter 2

Weiss was walking happily to the library, her hands swinging prissily at her sides. There was almost a skip in her step after sharing a private lunch with Grey in the courtyard, and even though nothing she had hoped for really came of it, it was pleasant to simply sit with him without any distractions and chat over messily made sandwiches and sour lemonade. The best part was that he accepted the lunch she made for him without any complaints, recognizing that she had never done something like that before. In order to get him alone, she had to send him a worrisome text saying she was in danger and that he was the only one who should come, choosing the day with most pleasant weather to do so. When he got to her, she was sitting in just the right spot at just the right table so the sun would be shining down on her and making the ivory shine of her hair glow like a sign from the heavens that he should be with her. It didn't work out that way in that moment, but perhaps she made him see her as something more than a friend and teammate?

Remembering the "date" fondly, she danced her way to the library while humming a tune from Grey's favorite anime, Fairy Tail, The Dragon Force OST. If nothing else, Weiss was at least proud of herself that she was able to digest the butterflies that were normally fluttering in her stomach when she was around him and actually hold a real conversation, even being able to put her silver tongue to good use to avoid his incessant questions about the team. He wanted to know why Weiss couldn't have just asked him to be alone with her. Sure, she managed to avoid giving him a completely honest answer every time, but did she really have to remind him how clingy the rest of Team RWBY was and how they would never let the two of them separate from the rest of the group?

She just _had_ to tell her best friend back at Atlas about it. Storming into the library, she gave a wave to Professor Beedle who worked behind the desk on the days she wasn't teaching class, and charged into the "media center" where she could make private calls to anywhere in the world. Grey had often made calls to his sister at Haven Academy here, Ruby and Yang their father, and surprisingly no one for Blake which had become a common curiosity among the other members of the team, but Blake never talked about it, so they decided not to ask. The room itself was nothing more than a short, rectangular room with a single desk ringing the walls, a series of monitors lined up at even intervals with shaders hiding the screen from anyone other than the person using it. Naturally, it was dark already so the screen could be seen easier, and this, plus the lack of windows and a cold chill that was prevalent in the air, gave the room an unsettling atmosphere. Fortunately, it was empty so at least Weiss wouldn't have to worry about keeping her voice down to respect other people's calls. That wasn't really a problem for Weiss, though. Just inconvenient. Plugging her headphones in, she typed in a number at the farthest monitor and waited for it to connect.

"Hey, Weiss!" Said the woman when the screen blipped. She was older than Weiss by a few years, but only barely above the legal drinking age at 22. Due to the stress of her job as Jacques Schnee's personal assistant, however, the worry lines on her face looked like that of someone in their early thirties. It wasn't a secret to the Head Family, or any of the house servants for that matter, that this woman was Weiss's father's current mistress, but honestly, the heiress couldn't be mad at her, and didn't deem her any form of homewrecker. The CEO of the Schnee Dust Company was cold and demanding and Weiss knew that the woman was only in the relationship for coercive reasons, probably blackmail or through physical threats, and the pair had often plotted against Jacques to take control of the company as soon as possible. They were serious about it, as well. As soon as Weiss turned 18 in little over a year, they would go through with their plan and send Jacques to an Atlas prison, but that conversation would be had later. Weiss had something more important to talk about.

The woman on the other end of the screen, Scarlet Ryokellia, had a rather tan complexion for someone living in the icy north, and confusingly bright hair. The bouncy, flowing lion's mane was a bright red laced with blonde and white that made it look like a hellish fire blazing from her scalp, and her eyes were a pure gold that glowed with a sunny energy, the pupils of her eyes being shaped like a slowly rotating black daffodil, something that she claimed was a birth defect, but Weiss figured it was a symbol of physical power that she kept hidden. It wasn't like Scarlet was secretive about being able to crush a battlemech with her bare hands considering she did it surprisingly often. Scarlet was also someone who could easily turn heads with her thin waist and busty features, but even through the screen, Weiss could see that her comely bone structure was marred with smeared makeup and bags under her eyes. She looked exhausted.

"Hey, Scarlet!" Weiss said cheerily but with a slight tone of worry, "Rough day?" Scarlet pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

"You have no idea. Trying to pacify the workers that your father has enslaved- excuse me, 'employed' without having to use violence, while at the same time trying to make sure they're happy and have everything they need without going against Jacques, despite his policies, is pure Hell. I swear to the Old Gods, I would make an excellent tightrope walker with this balancing act I'm constantly subjected to. Then you have the other families within Atlas and how even our criminal business partners aren't aware of my actions, and the ones that are need to be paid to keep their mouths shut, and then… Sorry, I'm rambling. What did you need, Doll?"

"You sure you have time?" Weiss asked, laughing uncomfortably, but Scarlet waved off the concern, staring at her with tired, sunken eyes that seemed to be having trouble focusing.

"Please, Babycakes," she said dismissively, taking a sip from a flask she had hidden underneath the counter, "I welcome the distraction." Weiss narrowed her eyes suspiciously but kept her mouth shut and chose to return to the main topic. She promised to quit.

"So, I maybe… kind of… met this guy…" Weiss said coyly, looking down at the desk with a satisfied smirk and pretending to adjust the keyboard primly, but cringed at Scarlet's spit take and series of choked coughs.

"What?!" she squeaked, "Are you serious?! You have got to tell me about him! What's he like?! Is he on your team?! What kind of technique does he use?! Is he a good fighter?! No wait, is he a ginger, like me?! Oh, please tell me he's a ginger! I want to meet him. Is he with you? Let me see his handsome face so I can welcome him to this family. Does he at least drink, though, because I really need a drinking buddy, and I-"

"Scarlet, would you please stop and let me explain?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms, but the drunken saleswoman paid the younger girl no mind and continued her annoying tirade.

"Hold on, no. The important question is if he's cute. And how did you even fall for him anyway? Last I heard, you wanted to focus on your studies before you tried to find a husband!" Scarlet cackled at her jest, ignoring Weiss's intense blush and terrified expression at the jab. Scarlet wasn't teasing Weiss at this point, she was full on challenging the heiress to prove some kind of point, trying for whatever reason to either start an argument or just to get Weiss flustered for no other reason than to be rude.

"No! What?! No! I'm not looking to marry him or anything! At least not yet…" Weiss added the last part with a bashful pout and ran her hand through her hair a few times, making Scarlet howl more. "Oh, come on, Scarlet, stop! What am I supposed to do? He doesn't even like me that way." Scarlet coughed a few times and her wailing died down to throbbing chuckles.

"How do you know?" She asked tritely. Weiss blinked at her.

"Excuse me?" She asked, then Scarlet leaned forward at the computer screen, making Weiss get a full view of Scarlet's perfect teeth, the orange flecks in her eyes, the woman's boobs cinching together in that low cut pants suit, and if they were in the same room together, Weiss had no doubt she would be getting a nose full of bourbon. With her face covering most of the webcam, Scarlet spoke in a breathy tone, her speech slightly slurred as she tried to enunciate more clearly. She was trying to creep Weiss out, and it worked.

"How do you know he doesn't like you?" she asked, this time more strongly. Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"Because he said so," she claimed, crossing her arms haughtily, "We're pretty good friends now, but after everything that we went through when we first took our entry exam and how moving into the dorms together was… well, it wasn't an easy transition for any of us, and I can tell you that even though he's my friend, there's nothing more there. If I asked him out, he would say no, and then things would become weird. So no, I have to wait a bit longer and make him fall for me slowly, and then wait for him to ask me out instead of the other way around."

"Baby, no!" Scarlet snapped, looking worried, her exaggerated speech now making her speak with theatrical hand gestures, "Come on, Doll. I can promise you that guys are way too simple for that to be anything more than an assumption! Just because a guy says he doesn't like you, which you didn't even prove that he did, so I can only assume you're lying about that so I'll get off your case, it doesn't mean he doesn't really want you, and if you guys are still friends now, then I bet you my Amygdala that he would return your feelings if you told him about them." Weiss cringed at the memory of that disgusting weapon, and sighed, absorbing her friend's words. It was funny. Weiss hadn't realized until she met Grey that she had a true friend in Scarlet all along, despite the woman being her father's mistress. Weiss just needed to learn what a friend was. It honestly made her feel bad that even though the older woman had never once mistreated Weiss, had often stood up for her and did whatever she could to make her happy, Weiss still spent the years refusing to believe anyone cared about her in that way.

"You really think so?" Weiss whispered softly, unconsciously brushing a strand of hair behind her ear out of anxiety.

"Yeah, definitely," Scarlet affirmed, nodding a few times, "Just go up to him and tell him, 'hey! I like you!' And if that doesn't work, you could always use your sister's technique on getting a guy to like you, but if you, Weiss Schnee, have actually fallen for someone, then I doubt this guy is going to really fall for you just by throwing wads of cash at him." Scarlet took another swig of her flask and pouted, realizing it was empty and just choosing to balance it on the desk by its opening instead, watching Weiss as she waited for the girl to respond.

"Well, I have to go," Weiss said, choosing not to tell Scarlet about her date anymore after Scarlet's words sunk into her mind, "You have work to do, and I… you've given me a lot to think about."

"Hey, Babydoll?" Scarlet pleaded real quick before Weiss could end the call, and she looked at her younger counterpart with an encouraging look, "Good luck, yeah?" Weiss only nodded before clicking a button and shutting down the laptop, folding her hands in her lap and burning a hole in the desk with her eyes.

The woman, Weiss's unofficial older sister, had sewn the seed of doubt in Weiss's mind. Of course, she wasn't about to make any rash decisions like grabbing Grey's neck and planting a kiss on him suddenly- Scarlet didn't actually say that, but it was a fantasy the heiress often perused -but what would happen if she did give in to her fleshly cravings? Grey was a very genuine person, so he was often very open about his feelings, and he never really did anything that denied his interest in her, often hugging her out of nowhere and having no qualms about physical contact. Sure, his feelings for her still weren't entirely clear, but at the very least, Weiss couldn't deny Scarlet's assumption. The more she thought about it, the less convinced Weiss became that Grey would turn her down. However, the only reason she even considered the possibility was because there was just so much detail that she just couldn't predict, denying the idea of a rejection but not confirming a requitement. Honestly, now that Weiss was actually considering taking the direct route, she was filled with even more anxiety than she had been before that phone call because now, she had no idea what to do or how to go about it, and the biting of her thumbnail was testament to how much that filled her with panic.

Eventually, after pondering over these thoughts and writing them down in a small diary she kept in her satchel, Grey walked into the room. Placing his hand gently on her shoulder to get her attention, they smiled at each other lightly, and left the Academy together for a meeting with the rest of the team in the city. They walked together, chatted over trivial things, and in their friendship was a natural flow, a pleasant air to the rhythm void of any insecurities or awkwardness, and this made Weiss realize that she was too insecure in her own feelings to give herself an answer to her earlier questions. It didn't matter if they were together just yet, and she didn't need to know how to make Grey hers. They were comfortable together now, and that was really at that mattered to her in that moment, so realizing she could think about how to go about her feelings at some other point, she decided that for now, whatever may come will come.

(...)

Grey was the only one laughing. Team RWBY watched on as their dust user, the White Mage, as they called her, hopped up and down the street, allowing an excited squeal to escape her lips every once in awhile and for once not caring if anyone heard her. Grey thought she was adorable. It was a sweet change of pace to her usual serious demeanor, but he was perhaps being too liberal in his interpretation of her behavior considering how put off by her the rest of the team was. He wasn't going to give into their discomfort, though. This kind of unbridled joy in Weiss was rare, and it would be good for her to allow herself to feel it more in the future, so he enthusiastically encouraged her. He noticed weeks ago that he had that weird effect on her. If he was being honest with himself, though, he wouldn't have been laughing with her if he didn't find at her at least a little funny.

From Weiss's perspective, she was becoming less and less aware that her friends were following her through the streets of Beacon as she admired each of the decorations that were being put up for the upcoming Vytal Festival. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, her heart leapt, and for a brief moment, she danced down the sidewalk. Humming a tune from the Nutcracker, a famous classic, she appropriately tumbled down the sidewalk with a succession of pirouettes with every beat, until she realized Grey was laughing at her. She stopped with a conspicuous pout, but when she did, Grey expressed his displeasure and poorly tried to copy her movements, trying to get her to start it up again. This made her laugh back at him, but she didn't join him or tutor him in his technique. She was just having too much fun to do anything other than watch him, and he didn't seem to care about the judgmental eyes directed at him, choosing to enjoy his embarrassment rather than hide behind it. Weiss really admired that about him.

As was tradition, most of the stores on Main Street had set up stalls outside to sell their product, or some meager refreshments, while tourists and partygoers enjoyed the attractions and numerous shows around the city, the stores themselves capitalizing on the opportunity to make an easy buck. When the group passed his Grandpa's shop, Grey stepped inside almost immediately and spoke with his childhood guardian happily. The girls poignantly perused the store, Ruby hiding behind the shelves nearest the cash register with Weiss right next to her, and paid close attention to Grey as he talked to the old man running the store, seemingly happier than he had been in months. Not that he hadn't been happy, of course. Just not as happy as he was talking to the old man. They even heard part of the conversation.

"You going to buy anything today, my boy?" The elder said to their friend with a bright grin, "I have some nice gifts you can get for one of those girls you came in with?"

"Nah, Pop, I'm just stopping in for a visit, like I told you," Grey explained, playfully using a demeaning tone, "And I don't think any of them would accept the pile of crap you sell." Grandpa Arsen chuckled throatily as Grey snapped a costume tiara in his fingers like a twig.

"Oh, come on now," he complained, but without a single trace of regret in his voice, "Anything here would be a prize to them, as long as it comes from you. They clearly worship the ground you walk on!" Grandpa Arsen laughed loudly and waved to Ruby and Weiss who were peering over the shelf which caused them to yelp and duck behind cover. The girls glanced at each other. Smiling lightly, sharing their embarrassment with one another, grateful they weren't alone, they thought about how the senior citizen entrepreneur didn't seem like the type who Grey would normally associate with. He may have been Grey's grandfather, they heard, but the man seemed rude and uncouth. The pair shared no real similarity. Even Grey was put off by the older man's tactlessness, frowning at one of the last thing his progenitor said.

"Grandah, I don't think I'm that special to them. Or anyone besides you for that matter," Grey complained, his voice uncomfortably strained and low. The pair of voyeurists stopped breathing at that uncharacteristically depressing statement, and both had to resist the urge to jump out from their concealment and hug him as tightly as possible. He was so damn wrong about that.

The older man cackled heavily as the two stubbornly stepped out from behind the bookshelves, Weiss feigning a haughty pride behind a blush as she placed one hand on her hip, and Ruby rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Seeing them, Grey turned to them with a frown and scratched his head curiously. A few flicks of his now shoulder length hair that he had been growing out, he opened his mouth to speak, to say that if they wanted to meet his grandfather they could have just asked him, but Ruby shoved a pair of clip on earrings in his face with a bright smile. They were the tackiest things ever, and she knew it- a corroding silver paint covering the three pendants, with the final one having a plastic amethyst as a centerpiece, and he doubted she would ever wear them, but when she pleaded with Grey to buy them for her, he only hesitated just long enough to process that she was entirely serious in her request. Weiss, not to be outdone, was a bit pickier in her choice. She knew that costume jewelry wasn't the only… couple-y in the store, the thought sending a chill down her spine, and Weiss knew the sentiment they were trying to express would still be the same even if she got something more slightly more expensive. Coyly, she mentioned how she thought a reggae bracelet in the lock box underneath the counter looked nice and dominantly told Grey to buy it for her. She did make sure to add a "please" to the order, though.

Grey smiled. It was crass, but the sentiment touched him deeply. He was always looking out for others, whether they wanted him to or not, but for whatever reason, he never truly felt like anyone cared about him despite his kindness, and yet, the minute both of the girls saw this self-deprecating attitude of his and sent it straight to the Underworld. It was… hard to describe the feeling. This one simple action sent a burning directly to his chest. It was painful but pleasant. He couldn't really put a name to it, because he had never really felt it before, and his grandpa and two sisters didn't really count since they were family but was this… was this what feeling cared for felt like?

As the register dinged from the sale, the group heard a commotion outside and ran out, ready to fight should they had to. It was their job as huntsman to be ready for an attack constantly.

"What is going on?!" Weiss yelled, reading the protest signs and listening to the chant of the protesters, her hands balling into fists and a vein pulsing in her forehead. Grey, Ruby, and Yang glanced at her curiously, having seen the girl annoyed beyond realism almost every single day, but never having seen her show any signs of true anger before now. She was pompous and arrogant, but even though she would snap at her teammates whenever they did something even slightly uncouth, showing snappy frustration with them, that pattern could never compare to the bull headed fury she was showing now. Blake showed the biggest reaction to this, jumping away from her teammate in fright. However, she wasn't the one to respond.

"I know, right? At least they're actually protesting this time instead of blowing up trucks or trains or stealing ammunition or torching stores or looting overturned ice cream trucks or whatever they do. Do you even know what they're protesting for?" Said a random voice from above them. The group looked up to see another faunus, a blonde monkey boy hanging upside down from a streetlamp by his tail and eating an apple happily. His hair was curled tightly and scraggly, his pant legs rolled up high over his converse, and his white button down was spread wide, revealing his finely toned abdomen seconded only by his cheeky grin. Weiss snapped at him to back off, and the guy raised his hands in surrender and sauntered off on the rooftops.

"These degenerates are ruining the Vytal Festival!" Weiss continued, storming around with her hands waving around dangerously, setting the group on edge because of the dozens of knives in her sleeves, "They should take their protests somewhere else! Like the slums where each of these filthy animals belong!"

"Whoa…" Grey muttered. This was going to get dangerously close to a race war if anyone in the increasingly passionate crowd heard her. Weiss was his friend, but she was also Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. She was a very well known public figure, basically a celebrity, and with her father's less than reputable business practices such as faunus slavery, the Schnee princess openly professing that level of racism, especially right next to a group of people who were already upset enough to practice their right to Freedom of Assembly, was bound to cause no end of trouble. Disregarding his own safety, Grey pushed past the rest of his team and tried to lace his fingers into hers.

"Snow Angel, maybe you should-" he tried to reach out to her, but she turned on him, ripping her hand away from his, but before she could say anything else, and she did try to, Grey took the chance to silence her by placing his hands on her cheeks lightly but firmly, and moving in as closely to her as possible without their faces touching. She froze. She was as silent as a church mouse in a room full of starving bobcats as he stared at her. She was acutely aware of his lips mere inches away from hers, his silver eyes looking deeply into her own, and the heat of his breath scraping against her mouth, a blush burning its way across her face. She immediately forgot what she was so mad about previously. Her body instinctively leaned forward a bit at his gesture, out of an autonomous desire to be closer to him so strong that she had to fight in order to keep herself reigned in. It was excruciating. If she just stood up on her toes and leaned forward another inch…

"Let's talk about this somewhere else," Grey said, breaking her out of her euphoria, "OK?" Struggling to find her wits, she silently nodded and ran off, a prissy skip to her step as she fled, Blake and Ruby following after her, but Yang holding back for a second with the other boxer.

"Dude, what was that?" she hissed at him, "You didn't have to kiss her to make her chill out!" Grey looked at her oddly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked genuinely, but then his eyes went wide as he suddenly realized that the way his back was turned to him, the way he suddenly, intimately grabbed her face and moved in, it could easily make them view that move as something more than what it was. Their perception probably would have made them think that he was stealing Ruby's move from the Emerald Forest. He was just trying to shut her up! He had always been able to get the most unique responses from her, bring out things in her that no one else could, so he did that knowing that it was an easy way to calm her down. He kicked himself. He was going to have a lot of backtracking to do later. Granted, it wasn't like he hadn't thought about closing the distance, but still.

"Nevermind," Yang said dismissively, walking off in a huff, "You do you, Grey. Just be careful who you piss off." Grey rolled his eyes tiredly and ran after her as Yang frustratedly pondered how much that stupid kiss would mess with her bet.

The pair hurried to catch up to the other three, the problem child having already recovered from her lustful daze and returning to her tirade, but this time making sure to keep it quiet. It wasn't quiet enough to avert the dirty looks from nicer people, but it was a start. At the moment, Weiss looked like she was about to set fire to Vytal Festival she was previously fawning over, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Regardless, Weiss had to have had a reason for this level of hatred. Normally, racists like her would speak about their bigotry in private venues with hushed tones, but this kind of wrath had to have had some kind of bigger reason for it, some kind of trauma that may have caused her to view that protest with so much murderous disdain in her heart. Grey knew that the White Fang had become violent over the past few years. Frankly, given the Schnee Dust Company's reputation, he wouldn't have put it past them to have planned organized attacks against it, but even for them, it wasn't a very believable scenario for any faunus rights organization to wage actual warfare. Why was Weiss revealing this side of her now, though? She treated every single faunus at Beacon Academy just the same as she treated the members of Team RWBY, but as soon as things became political, it somehow made her mad? No, there had to be some other reason for it. Grey may have been grasping at straws to find some kind of excuse for her horrendous behavior, but he was hoping it had nothing to do with faunus, and was specific only to the White Fang. He just needed to wait for Weiss to calm down before he-

"How can you be so single-minded?!" Blake shouted. Finally having lost it, she turned Weiss around angrily by her sleeve when they turned down a barren alley, her feline eyes narrowing dangerously. Grey slapped his palm to his forehead. This was probably worse for him than the averted race war from earlier, but at least Blake waited until there was no one around before breaking.

"Single-minded?!" Weiss snapped back, standing up to her teammate, "Do you not know what those people do?! They're pure evil!"

"How can you say that?!" Blake shot back, finding trouble meeting someone so demented head on, "How can you stereotype half of Remnant just because of some misguided extremists?!"

"I'm talking about those extremists! Not all faunus are bad, I'm not an idiot like you, but the White Fang are nothing but homicidal maniacs!" Weiss pushed, shoving her finger in Blake's face.

"It was a counter protest against violence!" Blake claimed, slapping Weiss's hand away. Weiss began throwing herself into her sassier attitude, sarcastically speaking with her hands and making her tone even more condescending than normal.

"Don't you know that the White Fang knows what's best for the faunus? That they're going to 'guide' these rapscallions into their 'rightful path'? Just because the people they're protecting say they want a peaceful alternative, it doesn't mean that the White Fang is actually going to listen to them! And misguided?! How dare you say that! They're killing people!"

"So they're very misguided!" Blake tried to defend, "Their hearts are in the right place but they're just not going about it in the right way!"

"What is wrong with you?! How can you possibly support a terrorist organization?! I don't think you heard me before so I'll say it again. They're killing hundreds, thousands, millions of people! The White Fang are evil! It doesn't matter what their intentions are if their hands are stained with the blood of innocent civilians!"

"Shouldn't we be trying to stop them at this point?" Yang asked Grey while swirling in a desk chair absent mindedly after the team had returned to their dorm. Grey sat in the corner, looking over the most recent update in a comic feed from one of his favorite online artists, Snailords, but set his phone down to address the question.

"I'm not going anywhere near this, Yang," he said through a great amount of mental fatigue, "There are some fights I'm neither willing to start or finish. Feel free to do it yourself, though."

"It's people like you who are the reason why the White Fang are taking these measures in the first place!" Blake pulled. Grey raised his eyebrow without looking up. Yang and Ruby, the latter hiding behind her sister under the nearest desk with a comforter over her shoulders, looked up at him pleadingly, sensing how short their fuses were getting, but Grey still wasn't getting up. Thankfully, the girls were losing steam. The debate was finally beginning to devolve from an argument to a barrage of insults. However, considering Weiss's godly amounts of pride in herself and her family name, the rest of the team knew she wasn't about to take that insult lying down.

"People like me?!" Weiss started. She jumped out of her seat, about ready to stab Blake through the eye, and Blake glaring at the smaller girl as if welcoming the challenge. Unwilling to see that through, Grey had jumped out of his seat at the same time Weiss had and moved between them. Normally, he would have taken a peaceful approach, choosing to deescalate the conflict instead of ending it, but after having dealt with this for nearly six hours, he was tired, frustrated, and had lost all sense of reason, and this made him end up taking the exact opposite approach.

"Both of you shut up! Just shut up!" He yelled at them, making all four of the girls in the room jump, "Seriously! Enough with you two! It doesn't matter what either of you think on this matter, and you know why? Because you're huntsmen. You're meant to stop whatever kind of force, whatever monster or organization that tries to threaten the peace of the Kingdoms. It doesn't matter if it's a grimm, a human, or a faunus, and that includes the White Fang. I'm sorry Blake," he turned to her, his back facing Weiss, and his irises glowing red as if Black Steele was dying to rip her throat out, "But you're defending an organization that is killing innocent people, breaking every law imaginable, and I don't care if you think they're justified or if they're cause is at least understandable. They need to be stopped by any means necessary."

"But Grey!" Blake tried to say, sitting forward again, ready to defend herself and the "very misguided" defenders of her kind.

"Let me make this clear, Blake," he said, his eyes twitching murderously, forcing her to back up to the other side of the bed in fear, "Your belief in their ideals doesn't matter. They're killing innocent people, and if it comes to it- excuse me, when it comes to it, you're going to have to put your own feelings aside and fight with us to take them down. If you don't see that, then I want nothing to do with you, and I will take you down myself if I have to."

"Grey…" Ruby whispered sadly. Even Yang was uncomfortable.

"As for you, Princess," Grey snarled, turning on Weiss with just as much ferocity as her teammate, making even her buckle under the weight of his threatening stare, "You're a horrible person." She gaped. Her jaw dropped and she tried her hardest to prevent a sob from escaping her lips, but a crack in her voice still slipped through.

"But…" she swallowed, trying her hardest to speak, let alone preventing her tears from flowing over, "Grey… Please listen to me." The tears fell despite her efforts. Without any pause, her cheeks became stained with betrayal as the droplets ripped through her make up's foundation.

"No, I've had enough of you both," Grey interrupted, "Blake's defense of terrorism just because it's coming from an underprivileged group, and your unbridled hatred for those people just because of that same group-"

"I don't hate faunus! Just the White Fang!" Weiss pleaded, and even Blake was beginning to whimper at this new fight that had sparked. This wasn't about Blake and Weiss or racial equality anymore. This had somehow been corrupted into the destruction of Weiss's and Grey's friendship, and even the former's previous opponent was acutely aware what kind of effect that would have on the heiress. She was losing her best, first, and sometimes only friend right now. Not only that, but she was losing him because of something she had said that had fully turned him against her with the same amount of animosity and fury Grey had only ever shown his enemies, so the guilt would most likely destroy her. Grey, on the other hand? If his kindness and compassion for the girl had been broken, after hours of trying to stand by her and defend her against Blake's jabs, he was without a doubt in a great amount of pain himself. Wisely, Team RWBY kept their mouths shut and watched.

"I don't care, Weiss!" Grey announced loudly, turning to face her fully, "I have been listening to both of you promote dangerous and evil ideas all day, and I'm freaking sick of it. At least Blake's view is kind of understandable since faunus are an oppressed people, but you? You're just an awful, horrible person."

"I'm a victim!" Weiss shouted before she could stop herself, stomping her foot in place. She dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands, Grey's face still cold and unyielding, but this time, remaining silent. She was shaking. It would only take another word for her to lose her mind. She repeated in her head over and over a reminder to not lose control, because if she did, she knew she would say something she would regret, or do something even worse. Team RWBY sat stock still and waited for something, anything to happen. As if in a psychic connection, the group had agreed that this fight had gone on long enough, and Ruby stood up to go across the room to get Pyrrha, hoping she would be able to help out a little bit, but before she could, Grey moved. Ruby, Blake, and Yang all tensed. His face was clenched tightly, his eyes closed in an effort to try to prevent any kind of pain from escaping him, but he just sat next to Weiss, and nothing else. No one in the room knew what he was doing. Not even him. No one knew what was happening until Weiss turned to him, her eyes puffy, and then crashed into his arms, hugging him tightly and only crying stronger.

Another half an hour passed before things had settled down long enough for Weiss to speak. She had stopped crying almost as quickly as she started, but stubbornly refused to leave Grey's embrace, only choosing to even acknowledge the other girls when she had finally eased her mind enough to confess why she truly hated the White Fang.

Weiss had never hated the faunus. Just like people don't hate all dogs just because one had bitten them one time, they only hate that one dog, Weiss held the strongest contempt only for the White Fang thanks to the actual war they had waged against her family. She explained how she grew up living in fear everyday, wondering if that would be the day she, a small child, would lose their life thanks to something she wasn't even responsible for, terrified that family and friends she had seen just the previous day would suddenly disappear. She even talked about her plans to fight for faunus rights after her father stepped down from his position and she took over. Weiss genuinely seemed like she wanted to make things better for those that had less than her. Once her story was over, Team RWBY settled into their seats and pondered over the tale, absorbing the details and silently appreciated their friend's honesty, but Blake, having been the one most directly affected by the girl that day, said that she needed some time, and everyone agreed to let her go as she sped out of the door in a blur.

(...)

"Really?" Weiss asked with the most dubious expression, "You knew she was a faunus? And you didn't think to tell us?"

The pair walked down Main Street just as they had yesterday. Needless to say, Grey felt bad for the way he treated Weiss the night before and had taken the girl out to enjoy the attractions of the Vytal Festival with him footing the bill for anything she would want, whether it be food or gifts to make up for it. It was good that he was an heir to a wealthy company in his own right, or else he would have felt his wallet crying out to him "why" as he slowly ripped out its innards to appease the girl. At the moment, as night was beginning to come, the pair were sitting at a bench in the middle of a park with the perfect view of the sunset, chowing down on some ice cream. Both of them were uncomfortably aware of how romantic this scene may have been. They tried not to let it get to them.

 _This isn't a date, this isn't a date, this isn't a date,_ Grey repeated in his mind.

 _This is totally a date, this is totally a date, I swear this is a date, and if this isn't a date, I'm going to make it a date. This is a date!_ Weiss gleefully cheered in her own.

"Yep," Grey answered his friend's question, biting into his mint chocolate chip like a demon that was immune to brain freeze, "I figured it out a few weeks ago."

"But… why didn't you tell us?" Weiss gasped, pouting cutely, "How did you figure it out anyway? She hid it so well!"

"Well…" he stammered, tapping his foot nervously, and chuckling stiffly in an effort to ease the tension in the question, "I guess I should answer the second question first, because that'll help you understand the first bit. So, I noticed how she was always wearing the bow. I mean, she always wears it with literally every outfit, regardless of the color scheme, even to bed and probably in the shower too which I wasn't about to find out for obvious reasons." Weiss covered her mouth at his consciously avoidant perversion so her giggle wouldn't make her cough up her strawberry swirl. Grey smirked and pushed her head to the side playfully, making her laugh loudly and bump him with her hip in response, and it made her smile at how easy and natural talking to him had become since yesterday. She didn't feel the need to constantly watch her words and berate herself all of the time anymore, at least not around him. Talking to him was so comfortable now after that fight. Now, the only question was if Weiss could flirt with him effectively. "Anyway, she wore it casually so I never gave it much thought until the one time I saw her not wearing it during that costume party last month. You remember?"

"Yeah, she-" Weiss tried to say, but paused to swallow the ice cream that was in her mouth, wiping her lips afterwards, "-she went as a… cat girl." Weiss's eyes went wide as she connected the dots. Thinking about certain other factors, the goth girl's confession from last night after she returned to the dorm made a lot more sense, even if she was clearly hiding the fact that she had been with someone all night judging by the love marks on her neck. It was Weiss's heartfelt confession of her tragic backstory, and her admission that she would forgive any White Fang members that would turn their backs on their former allies that moved Blake into revealing her deepest secret as well as the sins of her past. Blake nearly broke down herself when they accepted her so easily.

"Glad you remember! Guess there is a brain in there after all!" Grey grinned as Weiss jokingly smacked his arm, giggling alongside him again, "Her costume was just so lifelike that I had to figure out how it worked, and even though moodiness and being isolation are kind of Blake's thing, it seemed out of character how defensive she got when I asked her about them, but again, it wasn't like turning people away was odd for her, so I forgot about it and tried to sneak a peek as closely as I could at the wires and material she used to make her ears, figured out that the tail attached to her belt was made from something totally different, and then…" Grey paused to take a bite of his ice cream, then swirled it around, admiring the quick work he made of the dairy steeple and that now all he had left to do was bite into the cone, teasing his counterpart with his silence.

"Don't leave me in suspense! Keep going!" Weiss smiled excitedly and pushed him, unconsciously sliding closer to him to where their thighs pressed against one another, so Weiss leaned up against his shoulder to be more comfortable. With a start, she realized how natural this position, her curled up in his side like she was, was for her.

"Oh, are you still here?" He smirked at her, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes again. She scoffed with a sarcastic smile and crossed her arms, turning away from him, but a chill going down her spine when she felt his arm snake around her waist. It made her blush. Thankfully, her head was turned away from him so he wouldn't be able to see the color.

"Cheeky," she accused. Grey chuckled at her a bit more. What could he say? A cute girl sitting half way in his lap was definitely something he wasn't about to decline.

"So, eventually, after watching her for hours, I noticed that her ears were moving, just like a cat's would," he explained, "I tried to find any excuse I could to try to explain away the twitching, but come on. You can see how much of a stereotype she is, right? The yarn fetish, the nearly entirely fish based diet, the way she just… Have you seen her dance after random lights? Not just laser pointers, either. Like when my watch catches the sun and it makes a weird spot on the wall that flicks around when I move my hand and she jumps at it- no, wait. She's a cat. She pounces at it."

"Didn't you nearly kill me for judging all members of a group by a standard that had nothing to do with them?" Weiss walked her fingers up his arm, giving him the same shock he gave her with her finely manicured nails.

"Pfft, you kidding? I don't care if she sheds. Cats are the best!" Grey shot back, then made Weiss jump when he ran his free hand through Weiss's hair a bit roughly, but mostly affectionately, "And I would never kill you, stupid. Maybe I'd… punish you a little… but killing is off the table. Unless you steal my cheese puffs. Then, I'll not only kill you, but I'll also pull your screaming soul back from Heaven just so I can criticize your tacky choice in doilies." Weiss scoffed.

"Excuse me!" she reprimanded, "I can forgive you murdering someone as excellent and perfect as myself, but leave my doilies out of this! They're amazing! Much better than those entirely unremarkable torn jeans of yours, which, by the way, makes Professor Oobleck's glasses look fashionable." Grey theatrically gasped, his hand over his chest.

"How dare you, Snow Angel! So, rude!"

The two broke out into uncontrollable laughter, their stomachs getting sharp pains through them. Weiss didn't even realize it when she threw herself into Grey's chest from the joy he was filling her with, or even when he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, trying to muffle the noise. The motions were just so natural, so comfortable. She belonged in his arms that way, settling herself against him and finding a peace she had never really experienced before with his contact, melting into him. Klein, Winter, nor Scarlet had ever made Weiss feel so happy. Happiness, friendship, kindness, compassion, excitement, and many other emotions had become so common that Weiss wondered how she had ever lived before she met Grey. With him, life was exhilarating, stimulating, and intoxicating. Before he showed up, life was nothing more than a series of appointments and rules, each one more stifling and disappointing than the last, but now, she took every breath with joy since life was now suddenly worth living. Every day was lovely.

It was hard to believe that she could ever be happy, but suddenly, Grey made her believe that maybe life wasn't so bad.

 **(A/N) And finally, we have Scarlet Ryokellia, Jacques Schnee's mistress. Why is she so close with Weiss? Did Scarlet have anything to do with the death of Weiss's mother? Was she sleeping with her boss when Mama Schnee was still alive? Will she and Weiss successfully overthrow the White Haired Snake?**

 **Why would I answer any of these right now? Keep reading! Don't forget to post your theories as to what's going to happen with her in a review for a chapter dedication next month!**

 ****PS** (In addition to this chapter, I've also published a Bloodborne one-shot and will be publishing the follow up I wrote for it in two weeks. This mini-series is Doll x Hunter, of course- why would it not be -and is titled "Daily Life in the Hunter's Dream." I got the idea from the girlfromgraz and her Skyrim one-shot series about the relationship between Vilkas and the Dragonborn to write a number of short, fluffy pieces on the Doll and the Hunter, and just to be clear, there is a pretty significant chance that I will continue with this idea as a side project. Go check it out, and tell me what you think!)**


	8. Act 2, Chapter 3

**This chapter is dedicated to thefebruaryrose.**

 **(A/N) I really like how this one turned out. I had so much trouble trying to figure out how I wanted to end this chapter, but after I began editing and read the beginning a few more times, I knew this was it. It easily sets up chapter 4, as well as sets the tone for the rest of Act 2. This is just… in terms of plot, this is PERFECT.**

 **Also, given a few PMs I've received, I want to remind everyone that I update on the first of every month, with the exception of chapter 2.1 where I got distracted and forgot for a three days (I'm still sorry about that one).**

 **With nothing else to say, enjoy this update Beautiful Hunters!**

 **Act 2**

Chapter 3

"It isn't that difficult Ruby, just pay attention and you'll get it," Grey told his temporary protege. After the event with Blake last week, specifically when Grey and Weiss joined in on the fight and Blake and a monkey faunus named Sun were having with Roman Torchwick, Grey had noticed something off about the whole situation. Ruby had came in alongside Penny, but when the pair jumped into the fray, Ruby's aura had spiked in an incredibly uncomfortable manner. It sent shivers down Grey's spine, partially because the heat of her aura was blazing so powerfully that it felt like millions of needles puncturing his arms, but mostly because it seemed to give her a temporary static buff. The way that white light surrounded her, her eyes glowing with resolve and determination… her eyes literally glowed! Grey was intrigued.

Looking back on it, he just couldn't figure out where or when this supernatural aura seemed to appear in her. The first time he had fought with her was when they had to fight off Torchwick during the robbery at Arsen and Son the day they met, but granted, Grey had been distracted at the time, so he realized he wouldn't have noticed it if it were there. Besides that was when they were fighting the grimm in the Emerald Forest, and yet after spending nearly a full day with her and Weiss behind enemy lines, he knew he would have sensed it, so obviously this was a recent change. Why was the night at the docks any different? Biting his thumb nail, watching her train, he could only confirm one thing. There was a potential there. There was something deep within her that she just wasn't tapping, and if she could just manage to draw it out, Grey believed she could easily find herself on par with Pyrrha. She could very well end up becoming the Vytal Festival Champion.

Grey circled around her, scowling under his eyebrows at Ruby who stood stock still in the center of the open gymnasium. It was the dead of night, free from any distractions. The lights were off, the pitch black darkness of the room blinding both of them, making them rely on every other sense except sight, a training technique used to practice certain semblances. Ruby would not move until Grey told her to. Standing in the center of the training arena, her scythe held at its ready position, she stood stock still and continued to feel her aura circulating through her body. She trusted Grey with her life, and if he told her this was how she would learn how to use that power he told her about, then she was going to hinge on his every word.

"It's hard, Grey!" she whined quietly, unwilling to speak above a whisper lest she break her concentration, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. You say 'raise your energy' like it's easy but how am I supposed to do that. I'm focusing my body and my aura but I don't want to do after that. Make it stronger? More potent? I don't know what that means!"

"Shhh, Ru," he whispered, stepping inside her guard, running his hand through her hair and pulling her forehead against his.

Normally, such a close proximity to him, her lips being so close to his that they tingled with anticipation, would have set her completely on edge, but this side of him, the way he lightly ran his fingers along her hairline instead of roughly passing against her scalp, speaking at such a low volume that only she would be able to hear him, it made her knees weak. It would usually make her heart skip a beat and make her want to scream, but now, she found herself comforted by his hold on her, having to resist leaning into him. This gentle side he showed her today, even though they were training, was like cuddling into a dozen blankets, next to a fire, with hot cocoa, a good book, a litter of puppies and kittens to snuggle up against and nap with. The effort it took to figure out how to power up for this new skill made her body stiff, her muscles tense with overpowering stress, but when he held her up close, her muscles relaxed and she found herself able to breath more easily, a pleasant warmth filling her.

"Right now," Grey continued, trailing his nails against the back of her head, "I'm just trying to analyze your aura when you manipulate your energy so I can see how I can better train you. If I can figure out how to open up the floodgates that are blocking you, then I can make you so powerful that even your Uncle Qrow back at Signal would bow to you." Grey grinned, picturing his old mentor complaining about her being stronger than him.

Ruby opened her eyes when what he just said sunk in. Remembering what he said earlier about when he first learned about this hidden power, she couldn't stop herself from breaking her concentration and punching him in the chest.

"Grey! You told me that it hurts you when I do this!" Ruby scolded him, "Don't tell me you've been sitting here in pain this whole time!" The lights turned on suddenly after Grey used a shield to flick the power switch, then backed away from his much smaller and physically weaker friend with a saddened look creasing his features, his hand rubbing the back of his neck tightly.

"It uh…" he tried to explain, hoping she wouldn't be too mad, "It comes and goes, usually in small amounts." Ruby rolled her eyes and sheathed Crescent Rose, then took Grey's hand commandingly and pulled him over to the bleachers where they had set their bags.

"We're taking a break," she said flatly, "That's an order from your team captain, OK? Don't be so considerate next time. Being nice is one thing, but being too nice is going to kill you." Grey didn't argue. He wouldn't have been able to convince otherwise if he tried.

Somewhat violently, she threw him into a seat and plopped herself into his lap, making him grunt from her missile like landing, and reached into her school bag, digging through for a few minutes. The grip he had on her earlier, the tender way his fingers traced along her body had made her go insane, wanting nothing more than to close the distance and kiss him to try to alleviate that lustful feeling in her chest, but sitting in his lap was no big deal. This way, she was in charge. She controlled the situation, and it helped that she didn't really have to look at him either. After a bit of searching in her bag, she pulled out a pair of long and thin boxes. Grey's eyes lit up, Ruby smirking cockily.

"Are those what I think they are?" Grey asked excitedly.

"Yep! Authentic bento boxes!" Ruby claimed, opening one and handing the other to Grey, "It took me forever to find a good weeaboo store in the city that sold these, and even longer to figure out how to make those Japanese dumplings you like so much. What do you think?" Ruby pulled out a pair of chopsticks and expertly used them to scoop some rice into her mouth, tipping off Grey precisely how much time she spent on this project of hers. The girl lacked any coordination whatsoever with anything other than weapons, even her handwriting being chicken scratch. She would never have been able to use those that well without practicing with them for hours. Causing a squeak to break from her lips, Grey snaked his arms around her waist and gave her a vice like hug that nearly broke her ribs.

"You're a straight up combat addict, you can cook Japanese cuisine, and even bought me an actual One Punch Man bento box?" Grey listed off incredulously, "You're a woman after my own heart, you know that? Keep this up and I might have to marry you eventually." Grey grinned and broke into his meal, continuing to play the part of an otaku by shouting "itadakimasu" and diving straight into the dumplings he knew Ruby had worked so hard to get just right for him. Naturally, Ruby knew he was joking about the wife comment, but that didn't make her reaction any better. Marrying her? Woman after his own heart? She was internally screaming.

 _Baka,_ Ruby thought to herself, sadly nibbling on an asparagus stalk. Mentally, she berated herself for creating a stereotypical scene from a bad shoujo anime, but at least this way should enable her crush on Grey a bit more.

"So, you never told us why you kept Blake's secret for so long," Ruby said after half of her box was gone, referencing the White Fang fiasco last week. Grey paused while putting a scoop of rice in his mouth.

"I didn't?" he pondered.

"No," Ruby confirmed, shaking her head after taking a sip of an energy drink, "You were going to in the morning, but we were running late for class and got distracted, and then I guess we forgot about it." Grey nodded, stirring his food around in a contemplative quirk, thinking about how to explain it.

"Basically, I just figured it didn't seem right for me to tell you guys," he said, "Blake trusts us with her life, right? Once I figured out she was a cat faunus, which is really cute by the way, I love cats-" Ruby saved that information for later "-I realized that if she hadn't already told us, then it wasn't something I should even approach. I kind of regretted figuring it out really. Regardless, I decided that it wasn't really my place to say anything, and that she would hopefully tell us when she was ready. If she wanted to tell us, she would have, you know? To me, telling you guys that she was a faunus would be like me telling Weiss about that time in third grade when you-" Ruby jumped out of his lap, turned around, and pressed both of her hands to his mouth in a blind panic, effectively silencing him.

"OK! That's enough!" She shrieked. Grey nodded, grinning under her eyes coyly, and she pulled her hands off of his mouth, settling them on his shoulders, his own on her thighs, and Ruby unsettlingly realized that she had ended up straddling his waist. An aggressive blush grew across her cheeks. It was almost painful how aware of the proximity she was, where if he just kicked his leg up once, or if she decided to lean in a bit further, that this situation would quickly turn from affectionate to… something else. Her heart was pounding in her chest. They were alone in the gym at midnight, but in that precarious setting, reality seemed to be even more altered than before. Even Grey looked uncomfortable by the position. He didn't mind her sitting on his lap, but the way she was towering over him made him shift uneasily. Both of the pair quickly realized with a start how much they were beginning to crave closing the distance, but it was Grey who made the final decision.

"Shutting me up with your hands this time?" Grey asked, a sly smirk growing on his face, choosing that making off color jokes would be better than giving into the tension, "That's disappointing. I was expecting another kiss." Ruby's blush grew so hot that her face might as well have melted off, which is a situation she would have rather prefered over that one particular reference he could have possibly made. She jumped out of his lap and grabbed Crescent Rose. Grey panicked and straightened in his chair, ready to dodge the death sentence that he thought was coming, but the girl ended up jumping back in the ring and looking back at him.

"Can we get back to training now?" Ruby pleaded, attempting to ignore anything else Grey might have said after that, and fortunately, he just shook his head and jumped to his feet to join her.

The pair returned to their training, Grey getting the feeling of needles shooting him up again as he watched Ruby's off white aura blaze the minute she took her stance. He took notes on the progress. He watched as her aura reacted to everything he did, memorizing the cause and effect of his instruction, and formulating a plan to try to release the energy that was lying within her. However, both of them were unaware of the eyes that were on them. From the windows, a lone figure wearing a long and dark trench coat, a tricorne hat on his head, and a crooked saber sheathed on his hip watched the two of them with silent glee, and fervent anger. Pulling a demonic mask over his mouth, he disappeared in a flash of red energy, leaving a wet puddle of goop in his spot. As he left, the stranger knew one thing, and one thing alone.

His master would have to be made aware of this.

(...)

Yang loved the school's community showers. The bathrooms that were built into the dorms were good and all, but being right next to a small cabin filled with four other people made it feel cramped with no real sense of privacy, yet fortunately the administration had the foresight to install a bathhouse just down the hall just for that reason. It was perfect for someone to just chill out and relax in the steam, and since no one really used it anyway, even better if someone needed a more specific kind of release. Yang was just heading back to the dorm from such an event. A towel wrapped around her torso, a tote bag filled with her 300 lien worth of hair products carried at her side, she stormed back into the RWBY Cave while singing a song to herself about how sexy she was, only hesitating for a moment when she saw Grey lying pathetically in the middle of the floor.

"You OK, dude?" she asked him, stepping over to the dresser next to her and Blake's bunk. The guy was normally upbeat and energetic, constantly moving around and trying to keep himself busy, but right now, he was sitting upside down against the bookshelf, his legs propped up against the structure, a deep frown etched on his face.

"Peachy," Grey claimed bitterly. Yang scoffed.

"Grey, don't joke around," she demanded, crouching next to him, "What's wrong?" Grey looked at her downtrodden.

"Promise not to laugh?" Grey asked. Yang smirked at him, prepared to deny any guarantee that she would hold back her fury, but one look at him and she decided against it. Whatever was on his mind was serious, and it was really bugging him. Yang scowled and turned her back to him.

"No peeking," she said simply, and dropped her towel without bothering to cover anything as she dug in her drawers. Grey's eyes went wide for one second. Knowing Yang, she was probably trying to nonchalantly give him a show, but he turned his head away anyway, preferring to be respectful. He'd rather decline her attempt at seduction than risk watching her prance around nude and getting his skull bashed in when he broke her trust.

"I… I wanted to let things progress on their own naturally, you know?" Grey started, Yang silently listening as she put on her bustier, "I was hoping that eventually me and some cute girl would just transition into a romantic relationship on our own, but with this whole dance thing happening in the next few months, I realize that if I don't end up asking someone out, she's probably going to be snatched up by some other hot shot and I'm going to end up spending another school year alone. I've just… never really been good at that. I can talk to girls just fine, but actually making a move is… horrifying to me." Yang bit her tongue so she wouldn't snigger at his cuteness. Grey? Afraid of girls? Was he kidding? With his love of combat and his beastly fighting style, this was too adorable.

"And this has nothing to do with Ruby?" Yang asked intently. Grey's breath hitched in his throat.

"Dear, God, she told you?" Grey sputtered. Yang smirked and chose to ignore the reference.

"You do know that if you want a girlfriend, sitting around doing nothing isn't going to get you one, right?" Yang asked honestly, picking her shorts off the floor, "Who are you interested in, anyway? There are a lot of cute girls around Beacon. Is it Velvet? She's gorgeous, and that accent? Damn. I know you've been spending a lot of time with Team CFVY anyway, and I doubt that Coco is your type." Yang grinned maliciously at him, subtly trying to get him to reveal his crush on her sister, "I would just love to see how Coco would react if you hit on her though." Grey glared at her, but he had to force his smile down because the thought was admittedly pretty hilarious.

"Honestly, Coco scares me to death," Grey joked, "You know how collapsable weapons are still pretty much the same weight even in their smaller form? That purse of hers? It's a gatling gun the size of a horse. Could you imagine if I just said something wrong and she slapped me? Sorry, Blondie, but I spend enough time in hospital beds." Yang chortled at him, but then got a very devilish idea.

"Hey, I have a serious question for you, K?" Yang said, sitting next to him now fully clothed, "You have to work with me here. I wouldn't ask you something like this lightly, but I trust you enough to make this suggestion. K?"

"Speed dating the entire team?" Grey teased, running his hand up Yang's leg, taking advantage of her brazen flirtiness, but yelped when she pulled his finger back until it was just about to snap.

"Grey, normally I would love for you to feel me up and get me hot, but I really need you to listen," Yang chided.

"Yeah, OK, you have my curiosity," Grey whimpered.

"Good," Yang said smiling, "I was actually thinking that you should ask Ruby out." Grey went silent for a second, feeling so tense that the shock from Yang's suggestion radiated through the entire room. Yang gulped back her nerves. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Sure, she kind of said it on impulse, but that was only because she thought it was a good time to try to push the bet in her favor, not to mention that it was clear Ruby liked him and that she wanted her sister to be happy. Gambling aside, they would make a great couple. Seeing Grey freak out though made her worry that she just messed everything up. Suddenly, Grey turned to look at her with the most dumbfounded look on his face.

"OK, you had my curiosity but now you have my attention," Grey grunted, rolling over and beginning to pace around the room while playing with his hair, "Ruby is great and all but she's like my little sister or something, and our team leader, and dating inside the team just creates a lot of drama, and aren't you her big sister? You shouldn't just go around hooking her up with random guys and everything. I'm not saying she's not… well… pretty, or anything, but like… Why are you trying to hook us up, anyway? You've been flirting with me all year. Where's this coming from?"

"Hey, it's just a thought, man," she said, spreading her arms dismissively, satisfied with his answer, "I do love your body and all, but I care about my sister's happiness way more than my own. You guys would totally make a great couple, and I'm not the only one who thinks so either." Grey raised his eyebrow. "Pyrrha and I were talking about how you guys are happiest when you're together. As her big sister, I can tell you I haven't seen that genuine of a smile on her face than when she looks at you, and if I'm being honest, I'm pretty sure she has a crush on you anyway. In fact..." Yang's voice became distant, her eyes looking thousands of yards away as they glistened sadly. "Ever since our mom died, she's always been running. It's how her semblance works, I know, but she's always run from good things in her life, and puts on a really energetic exterior so she doesn't get close to anyone like she did Summer, and doesn't have to deal with the pain when they leave. She… I see her with you, and I can see that she actually lets herself be happy around you."

Grey began to grumble to himself, pacing slowly as Yang began to touch more and more on emotions that he was constantly trying to avoid dealing with. She could see that this wasn't something he wanted to talk about, and quite frankly, talking about super mom for even a second made Yang want to shut down herself. Still, even though she had to win that bet, she really wanted to help Grey and Ruby get together for other reasons. She wasn't lying when she said they were happy together. If nothing else, Yang wanted to help Grey understand his feelings for Ruby because she cared about him, not just for that beautiful kitten in the bunk below her.

"You could always ask Weiss out?" Said kitten suggested when she jumped into the dorm from the window, "No offense to Ruby or Yang, but I think that you and Weiss would be better off together." Yang and Grey both jumped in surprised.

"Blake!" Yang gasped, "What the heck?!"

"Ruby and Grey have this kind of peaceful, harmonious relationship," Blake explained, completely oblivious to what they were scared off, "And they're both really comfortable with each other, and that's fine, but Grey and Weiss have this kind of soft spoken passion, like just standing next to each other makes them want to dance and scream how much they want to be with each other, and that tells me that their feelings for each other are purely romantic and really strong, and not just created from their friendship. Not that that's bad either, it makes some very great relationships, but while Ruby and Grey make each other happy, Grey and Weiss push each other to be their very best without even meaning to. Just being in the same room makes their best qualities stronger."

"No, I meant why did you come in from the window?" Yang cleared up.

"Oh, that? I've been really into climbing lately and since the window was open, I thought this would just save time."

"Been into climbing, huh?" Yang teased, smirking, "I wonder where that came from?" Blake was about to chew her out for being jealous of Sun again, but was shot down.

"Back to the matter at hand, ladies," Grey spoke up, deciding that selfishly becoming the center of attention wouldn't be too rude given the topic, "Why those two, though? I'm friends with every girl in this school, but Weiss and Ruby? What made you think of them? Why not Velvet or Emerald in that team from Haven?"

"Because we see the way you look at her, so it's pretty obvious that Weiss is the only girl that could ever make you happy," Blake offered.

"No! Ruby would! Weiss is way too much of a tsundere for someone as sweet as Grey!" Yang screamed, offended, "He already has feelings for my sister!"

"I have feelings for Weiss, too," Grey said a bit too nonchalantly, "I have since I first saw her. Or have you been living under a rock this semester?" Blake and Yang both turned on him with wide eyes, going silent for a bit until Grey's jaw dropped after he understood what he just said.

"What?!" Blake shouted, "Why are we just hearing about this now?!"

"Wait," Yang followed up, "What do you mean you have feelings for her 'too'?"

"Uhh…" Grey stammered, licking his dry lips nervously as he tried to think of something quick, "Hey! How about you two? How about the three of usl go out? We can go catch a movie, get some dinner, maybe stay up all night reading and making out afterwards? What do you say?" Blake and Yang just sat there laughing at him at his suggestion. It wasn't the kind of embarrassed humor someone normally gets when getting treated so lasciviously, but the kind of amicable chuckling that told Grey they weren't at all taking him seriously. Fortunately, the dorm's door swung open just in time for Grey to avoid any other intimate questions.

"Yo," he said to the newcomers.

"Yo, yourself," Ruby said through a giggle of her own, covering her mouth. She was up to something, the other three realized, and the headgear made it clear exactly what that something was.

"What's up with the cat ears?" Grey nodded his head up to the younger girl's where a fuzzy red costume prop, similar to Blake's natural ones but even more fluffy, was wrapped around her skull. Happily, Ruby took the band off and presented it to him, unaware of Blake fondling the edge of her katana angrily.

"You like them?!" We got one for everybody so Blake would feel more welcome in the team after what happened!"

"It's stupid," Weiss said as she sat on her bunk, her arms crossed, but stealing a glance at Grey to check out that low cut to his white button down and how it made his neck and jawline seem so strong. She wanted to jump over there and… do… something.

"And offensive," Blake agreed, "Yang, could you tell your sister-"

"I want to try!" Yang cheered, jumping over and ripping her own golden pair out of the bag that Ruby unceremoniously tossed to her, then gently placing them through her voluptuous mane, "Ohmygosh! This is so great! Grey!" She turned to her fellow pugilist, but he had already put his slate colored ones on himself, making Yang gasp happily. "Dude." Blake's authentic version of the costume folded back against her head in frustration.

"Um…" Weiss spoke up, hesitantly picking up the bag and revealing a white version of the accessory with a pink innard, "Maybe… Maybe I'll try it, too, since everyone else is. Just for a little bit. I guess it can't hurt, right?" Blake rolled her eyes, finally giving up and burying her face in her pillow. Yang, Ruby, and Grey watched with anticipation as Weiss slowly switched out her tiara and hair clip, letting her hair drop gallantly to her waist, and shifted the headband so it seamlessly fit into her locks. Ruby inhaled sharply, highly pleased.

"You look beautiful, Weiss!" she praised. Weiss crossed her arms again and glared menacingly, but bit her tongue when Grey's swashbuckling grin spread across his lips.

"That. That right there. That is awesome," he encouraged, "Now all you need to do is act the part!" Ruby and Yang agreed with him, egging the rich girl on, leaning in towards her face imploringly and ignoring Blake's wailing groan behind them until Weiss gave into their peer pressure and rolled her eyes. She gave them one last disappointed look, then she flicked her wrist up much like a kitten would and gave a soprano pitched _mrow_. Grey bent over the desk holding his chest with a loud _hnnnggg!_ Yang and Ruby squealed loudly and began jumping around the room, Yang squeezing a pillow to her face and kicking her legs wildly, and Ruby rolling on the floor screaming 'so cute" over and over. Grey's voice sounded like it was being strangled when he spoke. "That was… That was too cute. I'm dead. I'm dying. Goodbye world." She smiled victoriously.

After a few minutes, Blake had accepted that she had no control over this and tried to express her disapproval to Yang on her bed. While they were chatting, Weiss and Grey tried to finish some homework at Weiss's desk, but Ruby continued to behave as a cat, being surprisingly dedicated to the bit. She sat on Weiss's bed and licked her 'paws,' then rubbed them through her hair, not caring that this messed up the style, and occasionally meowing to remind everyone that, yes, she was still a cat. After a bit of being ignored, she started meowing annoyingly loud. Blake started shooting her junior dirty looks with every noise, but Ruby insisted on continuing. After the fourth whine, Grey leaned over the back of his chair so his head was dangling upside down, and asked her politely to be quiet so he and Weiss could finish the essay they had been putting off, but just as a normal cat would, Ruby promptly ignored his request and curled up in his lap, sitting sideways. She wrapped her arms around his neck, crossing her legs at the knee, and nuzzled into his neck. Something was off, though. He was far more tense than normal, and Ruby figured that it would be OK to break character for a second to check on him.

"Hey, are you OK?" she whispered to him lowly enough so no one else would hear, even Weiss who was right next to them, "You look like you're going to be sick."

"I'm OK," Grey whimpered.

 _I am most definitely not OK._

"I'm just…"

 _Come up with something! Anything! Whatever you say, just… say it with confidence._

"Turned on by cat girls!" He concluded with a grin.

 _Really, Grey? Really? Whatever, just work with it._

Ruby cackled loudly, unable to control her reaction at something like that. How could she not laugh? It was hilarious! Not only did she figure out Grey's kink by pure accident, but he actually admitted it to her, while she was acting it out, and while she was sitting in the very precarious position on top of his most important weapon. Not to mention he admitted it with such vigor. He was adorable! There was no way she was going to let this opportunity pass by without taking advantage of it, so without any hesitation, she shifted her position, switching from sitting on his thigh to straddling him like last night and clawing at his chest like a scratching post. Making a noise as close to a purr as she could get, she closed her eyes and rubbed her head against his, nuzzling into the crook of his neck, nudging his chin, and the shockwave this sent through Grey's body was so strong, the arms on the chair broke because he was gripping them so hard. His entire body was rigid. His senses were so heightened and his adrenaline was pumping so hard that his widened eyes were unable to blink, and his jaw clenched shut.

Watching them go at it, Weiss's eyes burned into Ruby's skull, attempting to will her head to explode, even breaking her pencil since she was squeezing so hard out of anger. _Get off of my senpai, get off of my senpai,_ _ **get off of my senpai right now!**_

"Wow! You guys look like you're having fun over there!" Yang called over, looking up from the fighting game on her phone just long enough to torment them. In response, Ruby mewled at her sister, but the oppressed face Grey was sporting, seeing him just begging Yang for help with her little sister, gave the blonde an idea. He wanted help, right? Why not do the complete opposite? "Actually, you guys look really cute together." Yang took a picture and sent it to the other four in the room. They all checked their phones to see the position from the older girl's angle, seeing Ruby's face inches away from Grey's as she worked her hands through his hair, Grey's hands holding her thighs for support, and realizing with a start that if anyone saw this picture out of context, they could easily assume something else was going on. Ruby squeaked.

"That's my new background," she decided tritely. Grey cleared his throat, shifting his weight in an effort to be more comfortable down below.

"Hey, Ru? Do you think you could maybe…?" he asked politely, but Ruby instead wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pushed her head against his one more time.

"But I'm so comfortable," she complained. Yang mentally thanked her sister for her stubborn cravings for cuddles because she was making Yang's plans so easy for her. It was all just lining up perfectly.

"Hey, here's an idea, Ruby?" Yang mentioned playfully, her mind filled with all kinds of conniving ulterior motives, "Why don't you kiss him?" The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees in the room when Weiss heard that, and all of existence seemed to shut down, the room going silent, but the crashing of that drama bomb Yang just dropped screaming loudly at each of them. Gravity even seemed to have crashed down on them at the suggestion. For a second, even the color in the room drained from sight, turning into a black and white movie. Weiss was screaming in her mind. A loud screech was shooting from her toes up and up her spine to the tips of her hair. Blake thought she heard lightning outside and the earth beginning to shake, but judging by the sight of Sun in a jester's outfit in the corner, pointing and laughing at the girls, she figured this was a rage induced hallucination. Yang didn't even care.

"Wh- what?!" Ruby squeaked, "Yang! You… you can't… you can't be serious!" The younger girl's face grew bright red and she could attempt to cover it up out of fear.

"Ruby's right, Yang! That's just absurd!" Weiss chimed in, crossing her arms indignantly, "That isn't something you can spring on a girl without any warning, and just bringing it up out of the blue like that removes any kind of intimacy or surprise. It kills the moment, you dolt!" Weiss was blushing. Everyone could see Weiss was blushing just as hard as Ruby was, but unlike the latter's childish theatrics, Weiss was taking the more powerful, bitter route to deal with the butterflies in her stomach and the envy tearing away at her heart.

"What?" Yang shot back without any hesitation, crossing her arms with a fiendish smirk, as if the response was prepared, "Do you want to kiss him too, Ice Queen?" Weiss's eyes went wide.

"That- that's not…" she tried to speak, but just couldn't find the words. Unfortunately, Blake found them for her, taking advantage of the opportunity Yang had just given her.

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea," she said, glancing at Yang who surprisingly just smiled back at her with a nod, almost as if she appreciated that defensive tactic in their game. It had to be an act. There was no way she could support this idea. This was clearly psychological warfare to make Blake question her actions and doubt if this was a good idea or something that would blow up in her face. She wouldn't give Yang the satisfaction, though. Blake decided to double down instead. "I want to see if you guys can recreate the kiss from Ninjas of Love 2 when Hitomi confessed her love to Jackson. You guys act just like the characters so it seems like it would happen naturally." _Now, for the big finish,_ she thought. "Kissing is no big deal, either. Watch."

Without any warning, Blake sat up from her side of the bed, originally sitting heel to head with Yang, and planted a kiss right on Yang's lips. Yang was caught unprepared and off guard. She didn't move, or even breath for the first few motions of Blake's lips, but then her own fell into sync automatically with her attacker's, taking turns leading and caressing the soft skin of the other girl, one hand gripping their fingers into the bibliophile's hip for support. It wasn't long, though. About three seconds went by until Blake pulled away from Yang with a small tug on the blonde's bottom lip.

"See?" Blake claimed casually, turning to the other three in the room while being completely unaffected by what she just did. Yang, on the other hand, was lying limply against the sheets, her head hanging loosely off the side of the bed, her eyes lifeless like a ghost's and line of drool spilling from her lip as her face burned pink. She passed out. Ruby and Weiss looked at each other trepidatiously after the shock had worn off, then nodded, coming to the same conclusion.

"No," they said simultaneously. Grey shook his head at Blake disappointedly, but noticeably happy.

"Jeez, it's about time you two got together." he said, disapproving of her actions. Blake's face felt hot and she began to freak. This backfired.

"I still don't want to do homework!" Ruby whined, jumping off of Grey's lap and slapping the ground childishly, throwing a tantrum, "Can't we just watch a movie instead?" Grey wanted to say no, he really did. He tried his hardest to keep his focus on his assignment, but Ruby was giving him the cutest puppy eyes he had ever seen, and just couldn't keep his composure. He looked at Weiss apologetically.

"Well?" he asked with his voice laying on the subtext of "help me" very thickly. Weiss surprisingly didn't even hesitate. Perhaps, she knew she wasn't going to win the argument, or more likely, with Yang and Blake chatting in the corner, and with Ruby and Grey not even caring anymore, she knew she wasn't going to be able to get any of her work done. She slapped her books closed and dug through some files on her laptop.

"Fine, but I'm picking the movie," she declared.

Ruby cheered and hugged her partner, thanking her profusely. Grey shook his head with a small smile, proud to see how well they had been getting along for the past few weeks, and created a nest at the end of the bookshelf, filled with blankets, pillows, cocoa, and plenty of salty snacks that he dug out from under the cot he had moved into the room. Ruby even grabbed her comforter off of her bed and wrapped herself into a burrito. Weiss and Yang took their place on either side of the punk, Blake choosing instead to stay up with her book while enjoying the white noise, and after Grey had finally set up Weiss's laptop to the TV, he dug his way into the spot between his two lovely friends who wasted no time curling into him. Even with these inexplicable, debilitating feelings for them that he couldn't quite handle just yet, he knew they would always be his friends. Crushes, and potential mates, maybe, but always friends.

Looking back on it, it twisted his stomach how things had progressed this year. He didn't even know Ruby existed before she beat up Torchwick in his grandfather's store, and they had quickly became part of the other's brood, and now, she was cuddled up against him, her arms wrapped around his waist as she fell asleep against his chest. As for Weiss, it wasn't any secret he had a small crush on her in the beginning of the year. He never hid it from anyone and was surprised to find out that Yang and Blake didn't even know about it, but he knew that was because that crush didn't last long after he found out how mean she could be. However, after spending half of the year with her and finding out more about her, she managed to worm her way back in his heart and he found himself holding her just as tightly to him as he was Ruby, the angel distractedly resting her head on his shoulder eating popcorn while being fully engrossed in the noir romance she chose. He wasn't going to deny it any longer. Excitedly, and with no small amount of fear, he finally accepted his feelings for them. Glancing over at Yang and Blake, the former leaning against the latter's leg that she slyly dangled over the edge of the bed, and remembering what Yang had said about Pyrrha, he had the funniest feeling that he was the last to know about this. He picked up his scroll, taking care not to wake up Ruby.

 _Hey, Pyrrha?_ He typed expertly with one hand, the other gently playing with Weiss's hair, _I need to talk to you later. Coffee?_ A few minutes went by before he got a response.

 _I need to talk to you, too. Weiss and Ruby?_ She replied.

 _Yep. Jaune?_

 _… Yes._

Grey smiled to himself. Maybe it was time to enact that plan he made with Ren.

 **(A/N) So, like I said, this chapter perfectly sets up the tone for the rest of Act 2. I know it's a bit lackluster compared to some of the other ones, but by no means is this a filler chapter because it still sets up some very crucial story elements for later down the line.**

 **Speaking of which, I told you guys in the first chapter that this story is primarily a Weiss x Ruby x OC romance revolving around a major conflict within the world of Remnant, and knowing that, I have something for the next chapter that you can all really look forward to- ACTUAL PLOT! Not just this fluffy, cutesy goodness, but something real and tangible that you can hold onto in addition to this beautiful romance.**

 **See you guys in the next update! Have a good month on the Path!**


	9. Act 2, Chapter 4

**(A/N) PLOOOOOT! I hope you guys have been looking forward to this because I can promise you, you'll have as much fun reading this as I did writing it. There's plot this time! In both senses of the word! (wink).**

 **On a more serious note, I understand that with Volume 5 officially out, and with the lore that Rooster Teeth is going to inevitably drop on us a few weeks down the line, that certain bits about this story are no longer going to be in line with many details of the anime. When that happens, we could consider this a slight AU. Just barely. I'm pretty sure Volume 5 is going to reveal more info about the Silver Eyes Ruby eyes, as well as Salem's past and overall nature, and Ozpin's master plan and the secrets he is trying to hide will be revealed. When that happens… well, screw me, am I right? However, that doesn't AT ALL mean that I will lose hope for this story, abandoned it, or even simply put in less effort. Granted, certain things may change a bit to keep more in line with the show, but the story will still be great, and I will do my best to make it the best possible for you.**

 **Other than that, I realize this is a few days early, and that's because I'm going to be updating this chapter now and the next one at the normal time as a kind of "two for one deal" or a two parter because this one and the next one are linked so closely together. However, in literature like this one, I don't believe in doing a "part one and part two" between two chapters because it doesn't make any sense. If I was writing about a subplot spanning over multiple chapters, then maybe it would make sense, but considering these chapters are still part of the main plotline, even though I'm posting them back to back, I'm going to write them as their own chapters.**

 **In short, you can consider this chapter and the one following to be riddled with plot throughout each of their 23 pages, but this chapter is the only with (ahem) "plot" so enjoy it while it lasts. After that, chapter 2.6 will be less about plot, and more of the after effects of these past two chapters where we will go back to that sweet, mushy, gooey, fluffy cute crap that we all love. Maybe. Chapter 2.5 is… kind of screwed up.**

 **Good luck, Beautiful Hunters!**

 **Act 2**

Chapter 4

Defense. A punch to his jaw, a roundhouse to his inner thigh, and a spinning hook kick to his temple, all blocked. Grey was holding his own but quickly losing ground. The girl was just too strong for him despite her size. She was smaller, faster, more flexible, and had a wider array of moves. In no time flat, he was on the ground with blood spilling from a gash in forehead.

Rolling backwards, he put up a shield which his opponent managed to get around before it was fully formed, taking advantage of her more advanced agility. She rammed her shoulder into him hard. She spun, and her heel collided with his solar plexus and knocked the wind out of him. Stumbling back, he managed to stay on his feet. He gripped his stomach and tried to regain the breath he just lost but when he looked up, the girl was still pushing him. He didn't have time to think. He just moved. He jumped to the side, only for her to spin again and hit him in the jaw with a back fist. The effort it took to stand was getting harder and harder, but she wasn't going to knock him down again. She had him on the run. He was an expert at close combat, so the range put him at a disadvantage and she knew that. He kept moving. He had to find some kind of opening to escape because he wasn't going to win this fight.

He failed. His back hit a wall and the girl beat him down until he was put to his knees.

"Something on your mind, Grey?" Velvet asked as she put down her fists and helped him to his feet, "You seem distracted."

"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess," he grumbled, sitting on the bench and wiping the sweat off of his face as the medic bot in the training hall stitched him up, "Just girl troubles." Velvet stayed standing and shadow boxed for a while to perfect her muscle memory, trying to keep her heat up and train as hard as was necessary for Beacon Academy's elite standard.

"Is this about the dance?" she asked, "Because I'm free if you want to go together?" Grey glared at her tiredly and she smiled playfully at him. "Only teasing. You know I have Yatsuhashi."

"You guys are perfect together, by the way," Grey admitted, sipping an energy drink.

"Thank you! Now, to be serious, what about Coco? I think she'd be happy to go with you." Grey pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Velvet, please be serious."

"I am!"

"One, you and I both know that if I asked her, I would be nothing more than a fancy decoration, and two, she utterly terrifies me."

"OK, I can admit the first one is probably true, but she's not that scary."

Grey responded to the comment by just staring at her silently, his eyes narrowed.

"OK, I see your point," Velvet admitted. She was sporting a blue sports bra and white yoga pants to Grey's white sleeveless tee shirt and blue track pants. Deciding now would be a good time for a break, she wiped her brow and joined him on the bench where he handed her one of his drinks, and a power bar so the prey animal wouldn't tire out. Sure, her slender body made her more agile and nimble than most, but she needed to gain a bit more muscle. A lithe frame was good for infiltration, but real combat like they were training for would literally break her very quickly, not to mention how it lowered her stamina which was crucial for extended periods of conflict. She gratefully took the protein.

"Actually," Grey said after a period of rest and silence, "If you really want to know, this is about Ruby and Weiss."

"Really?!" Velvet asked happily, making Grey raise his eyebrow, "Have any of them actually confessed to you yet? Are you going to ask them to the dance? I've been waiting so long for this! You all would make such a great trio! You need to tell me what happened! How did they tell you?! What are you planning for your first dates?! How did..." Velvet realized she was rambling, and over excited. Grey watched her with pure confusion as she forced herself to relax, both her shoulders and ears drooping before he spoke again.

"You… seem awfully excited about this," Grey noticed. Velvet smirked coyly.

"You're not denying that anything happened," she pointed out, "You and those two are like Jaune and Pyrrha- everyone knows you love each other except you three. It was like you were all the last to know about it."

"I hate you," Grey said flatly, remembering his thoughts from last night, "I guess that would make Ren and Nora the 'we're not ready to admit our feelings for each other just yet and we've been denying them for years' kind of pair, then?"

"Yep," Velvet agreed before turning to Grey and grabbing his arm insistently, "But what happened with Weiss and Ruby?! Tell me!"

The bunny began slapping his arm rapid fire to try to get an answer. Reluctantly, but knowing he could trust his friend, evidently one of his best friends at Beacon but he wasn't sure how or when that happened, he told the story of the week prior and how he learned about his feelings for them. Velvet, though, wasn't having any of it, and wanted more info. She grilled Grey for as much information as possible. She wanted to know everything about how he figured out he liked them, what he specifically liked about them, a really uncomfortable two seconds talking about what he wanted to do to them, but Velvet quickly diverted the conversation to how he was going to confess to them, but that's when the conversation took a less cute, more complicated turn as they hit upon the idea. It left both of them scowling at the floor. Velvet hadn't realized the specific problem Grey was having until after he said it out loud.

"Maybe I'm not the best person to ask about monogamy," Velvet said, "Rabbit faunus are closer to our animal counterparts than most people would think, so when we… have a need… we tend to fill it with anyone willing. Especially with other rabbit faunus, and whether we're devoted to one person or not. We often shag with multiple people sometimes if our partners are willing. In fact, one time with Yatsuhashi, Coco-"

"I really don't want to hear this!" Grey squealed, jumping up and covering his ears. That was a mental image he desperately did not want or need. How did that even physically work for them? The man was a giant! Even when standing, Velvet was barely tall enough to stand over his… hips… Again, not a mental image Grey ever wanted to think about. Either way, Velvet's poor waist…

"Fine, fine!" the woman recovered, "What I'm saying is that…" Velvet bit her lip and broke eye contact. Grey raised his eyebrow one more time at her. She was acting oddly suspicious about this, and given the last topic of conversation, Grey was very curious. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to hear what she had to say anymore, but he did trust her, and that was a privilege she had earned. Unlike Yang or Blake, Velvet was the one he could come to for a non judgemental ear to talk to. Her advice always being spot didn't hurt either. Whatever she was withholding from him, whatever she wanted to say but was clearly avoiding, was something that Grey decided he wanted to hear after a bit of consideration. She wanted to help. It wasn't that he really needed it, but he wasn't going to turn her down like this.

"Velvet," Grey said gently, taking his seat next to her one more time and taking her hands tightly, "If you have any idea on how I could handle this love triangle, then tell me. I know you'll be able to help me." Velvet looked down for a second, then back up to him very intently, a more dangerous look than Grey ever thought he would see in her eyes laced in her features. Grey swiftly removed his hands. Seeing a prey animal look like she was about to drain him of all his blood was nightmare fuel

"Do you trust me?" she asked. Grey didn't even hesitate.

"With my life," he shot back with a righteous fury in his voice. It wasn't like he just went through an entire line of thought about that topic, damn. Velvet sighed in relief.

"Then… Why not date both of them? Sure, you'd have to ask them and make sure they're OK with sharing you, but there's really nothing stopping you from having them both. Polygamy is actually pretty common here in Vale anyway." Grey blinked at her. His heart absolutely halted at the idea, which probably wasn't healthy, and he was mute for a full minute before speaking.

"I'm from Mistral…" he whispered. Velvet dipped her head and looked at him dryly, her eyes narrowed and her lips in a pout, showing her disappointment very clearly.

"Dude…" she grunted, "That is the worst excuse I've ever heard."

"And we're done here!" Grey was wrong. He didn't want to hear that idea.

"You can silence me, but you can't silence the truth!" Velvet called after him as he began training again, "Seriously. They already like you. If you're honest with them and tell them that you just can't choose, then I'm sure they'll understand and at least try to-" Velvet shut her mouth. Grey was still giving her a dirty look, but he politely answered his ringing scroll, the bunny politely waiting to speak again at the side, but what she was about to say was lost when she saw Grey's scowl grow even darker. It didn't seem serious, but something was going on that made him upset.

"I've got to go Velvet," Grey groaned, putting on his collarless leather jacket and donning an upgraded version of Animus and Albatross for his most recent mission. Velvet eyed the weapons curiously. They used to be nothing more than slab of steel with explosives and other oddities strapped to it. Now, they looked like they were worthy of being called something more powerful than pea shooters, turning from bracers he slipped over his arms to armored gloves that looked more like robotic prosthetics than anything else. She couldn't see if there were any weapons on them, though. Maybe they had hidden latches? She would have to grill him a bit more once he got back to see if she could find out how they worked, but the real improvement to his weapon set were his new boots. They were just hunks of metal and piping over his shoes, but she knew what those did. They had rockets on all sides, shooting in every direction to rapidly change his momentum mid strike, but it looked like he had improved their firepower. He clicked them to life and launched into the air, the napalm burning the floor beneath him.

"Good luck Grey!" Velvet shouted after him after gathering her wits from the shock of seeing him fly, "We'll finish this conversation later!"

Grey could only wave back before he flew out of the sky light in the middle of the gymnasium that was left open for him. Willing his rockets to shut off, cutting off the flow of aura into them as a kind of power switch, he lightly landed on his feet on the roof where Glynda and Ozpin were waiting for him. He dug his hands into his pockets, grumbling. They promised him he could have the day off.

Subconsciously, he noticed a lot of negative emotions in the distance, but chose to ignore it.

"I'm assuming that you called me for something important?" Grey asked them sharply, pushing his boundaries around the school's dominatrix. He knew he was being rude, and that he was most likely going to receive a riding crop to the face in a second, but figured that would be better than dealing with the pervert one floor below him. Bunny faunus were weird. Fortunately, it seemed like Glynda hadn't heard him because she refused to look up from her scroll or acknowledge him, Ozpin taking the lead instead.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Arsen," the headmaster greeted, "I trust you've been keeping up with your studies?"

"Eh, they come and go," Grey said dismissively, referencing his grades, "The bigger issue lately has been about the dance. Basic high school drama, you know? 'You have to move fast or all the good ones will be taken,' if those cheesy rom-coms from two decades ago are anything to go by. I'm trying to figure out who to take." Grey narrowed his eyes at Glynda who he saw smile knowingly, eavesdropping on the conversation while lackadaisically searching her tablet. Even Ozpin gave a more playful smile than usual.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out," he said fatherly, "A boy in your situation is bound to have a date soon with four options merely a toss of a hat away."

Grey's shoulders slumped at that. Even if Grey was one of the headmaster's contacts, it constantly surprised him how much Ozpin knew went on in his school. Most principals wouldn't care about the local drama, but even if Ozpin were one of those disinterested officials, Velvet made Grey aware that everyone in the school knew Weiss, Ruby and himself had some form of romantic tension between them, and mentioning the entire team? All four members? He was just being coy about his knowledge of the two specific girls on the team Grey was suffering over..

"Anyway, Ozpin and Glynda seem to think you can help us with something," said a rather commanding voice just outside of Grey's line of sight. He turned and saw a tall man in a stark white military uniform, gloves on each hand, a few strands of metal appearing to be surgically implanted into the side of his head, his cleft jaw set, worry lines etched on his face from years of stress, and a line of white creeping up to his black hair. Ozpin mentioned this guy would be coming. Grey kicked himself for being too distracted with his own personal problems to see the dozens of Atlas airships in Vale's airspace that should have tipped him off to this man's arrival.

"General Ironwood, I presume?" Grey greeted, holding his hand out which the officer grimly took, "It's a pleasure. What can I help you with?"

The trio of veterans stepped over to one side of the roof. Grey followed them, taking the time to listen and observe, surveying his surroundings instead of asking pointless questions he knew he was about to get the answers to. When the group stopped, Ironwood turned and looked to Grey expectantly, like a test, while Ozpin watched him with a sure pride. Grey tried to ignore them. He was half listening to Glynda's explanation of the scene before him as he bent down and lightly dragged his fingers over the pool of dried blood shaped in a perfect circle. It looked like it had been there awhile. Blood tends to dry pretty quickly, and this had been here so long it looked like it had completely fused with the stonework of this part of the roof. What didn't make sense was the shape. No matter the wound, no matter how clean the death, blood was never spilt in a shape that perfect unless it was specifically planted there for one reason or another. Grey wasn't sure how he could help with something like this until something Glynda said finally processed

"Wait, so this isn't blood?" Grey asked incredulously. Glynda put her hand on her hip.

"Not even close, Mr. Arsen," she intoned with her usual teacher's voice, "It's something we don't quite understand right now."

"That makes this much easier then." Grey stood up and without any hesitation or second guessing himself, he closed his eyes and focused. He tried to zero in on the energies laced within the blood, comparing him to things he already recognized, like Glynda's and Ozpin's signatures, and the dust in the armory a few yards away from the school. Given that last one, he could see precisely what the teachers were so worried about. Frowning, he returned to the physical world.

"You're right," Grey growled curiously, "This isn't blood. In fact, I wouldn't even consider this an organic substance to begin with. It's closer to…" Grey bit his tongue. He scoffed at the thought that had crossed his mind, but since he had already started the statement, Ironwood was intent on making him finish it, gesturing for him to continue. Grey knew it was stupid. Sighing and rolling his eyes just slightly, Grey leveled his gaze on his elder, his eyebrows furrowing into a serious scowl. "I would say this blood is closer to dust, General."

Ironwood laughed. It was the derisive kind of laughter one gives when they head something entirely unbelievable, and given that this particular general originated from the most militaristic nation in all of Remnant, Grey's declaration probably sounded that way. It made sense. Each of these huntsmen, having years of experience under their belts and one of them coming from the home of the world's foremost dust manufacturer, had probably forgotten more about the weapon than most huntsmen would ever know. As for Grey, having spent half a year with the heiress of the aforementioned corporation had at least given him the knowledge to know how ridiculous that statement was. Dust was nothing more than a weapon, an ammunition, or a tool to make both. It could even be used as a power source in emergency situations as a last resort. For lack of a better explanation, it wasn't organic, nor could it successfully be mixed with such. Weiss had mentioned something about what certain types of dust could do if mixed with the human or faunus nervous system, though, but Grey carefully left her theories out of his conversation given how secretive she had been when discussing them with him.

"Hey, you guys asked for my help," Grey said, crossing his arms, "If you didn't want it, you shouldn't have asked, and now that you know what I've discovered, you can take it or leave it _James_." General Ironwood narrowed his eyes at this upstart student before him. His scowl towards the more experienced huntsman was outright murderous, but it was overpowered by a challenge being issued, and Ironwood wasn't going to take it sitting down. He stepped forward, ready to retort, but Glynda's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Calm down boys, you can fight later," she chided, and then turned to Grey with a more serious look, "You think this is blood and dust mixed together? Are you sure?"

"Nope," Grey admitted readily, pulling out his scroll, "But I know someone who would be." He pulled up a holographic video screen out of view of the professors, the bright blue curtain playing a scene of three dots circling around each other as the call went through.

"Hey, Big Bro!" said a younger girl on the other end of the line, giving the brightest and warmest smile that actual angels would be jealous of, "It's good to finally hear from you! I've been wanting to hear about that naughty teacher you tell me everyone of your classmates fantasizes about. Do you have a picture and you can show me?"

Grey wasn't sure if the laughter from the older men made Grey's horrified face blush or the fact that it was pretty clear that the teacher in question was within ear shot. Glynda seemed to take the perversion pretty well, though. She hid her homicidal, somewhat sadistic glare at Grey behind a pleasant and genuinely embarrassed giggle. Regardless, Grey quickly changed the subject.

"Yeah, good to see you too, Bloom," he interjected, shooting her a look that said he would talk to her about it later, "I actually had a question for you about some homework I've been struggling with. It's just your area of expertise." The girl's eyes went from an adorable flame of youth to a sharp glint of an almost arrogant pride. Her heart shaped pupils dilated against her blue irises surrounded by a dark and winged eyeliner in anticipation, and as a playful act she was putting up, she sassily swiped her braided pastel pink hair over shoulder.

"Step into my office Big Bro," she declared in a business like manner, but still unable to keep her excited smile down, "What can I help you with?" Grey smirked at her. There was something about her that always eased whatever tension or stress he was feeling. He needed to call her more often.

"So, I'm studying the effects of dust on biological entities like humans, faunus, and normal animals," Grey started, "So, since your biggest interest at Haven Academy just so happens to be dust, I was wondering if you could tell me if there was any particular way to successfully allow dust to travel through the bloodstream without the person dying. It doesn't have to ets useful or practical. As long as there is some kind of theory behind it, that could work just fine… Baby Sis?"

His little sister, normally bright and peppy, had taken a more serious turn, and suddenly Grey was filled with a bit of guilt. Her eyes had closed and her thin but dark lips had curved into a pout, her brow furrowing in thought, and having put the question into the girl's mind, Grey realized only too late just how badly this might bug her later on. Whenever she was faced with an insurmountable problem like this one, she would obsess over it for days, sometimes even weeks until her other studies, personal relationships, and even her basic hygiene suffered as a result. Fortunately, she answered almost immediately, seemingly having worked through this problem before. Grey still decided that asking her without thinking was a bad idea.

"Believe it or not, it actually is possible," all four of the other huntsmen jumped in surprise at this, completely focused on the thirteen year old girl's speech, "but only in theory. It kind of works on the same principles as AI functionality, but entirely based on gene splicing and chemistry instead of mechanical or electrical engineering. If someone could create a clone of someone entirely out of dust, then lacing their blood with dust would just be inevitable, let alone possible, but you have to successfully make the clone first. If you just injected dust into someone's bloodstream synthetically, it would kill them almost immediately, so the only way to do it and being able to survive is if the person had been born with dust already inside of them, and the only way to do that is to create a completely bioengineered person. Maybe not even a clone, but some kind of organic AI. The biggest problem with that is creating a form that can withstand the crippling qualities of dust, and then keeping that thing alive after you do." Bloom turned her head towards a voice off screen, then turned back to Grey with a smile. "Sorry, but I have to go. It's time for class. Love you, Bro!"

"Yeah, love you too," Grey said appreciatively. Bloom wiggled her fingers at him with a naturally mischievous smile and the screen went dark. When it did, Grey winced and reached up to rub his temple, glancing in the direction of where that negative energy from earlier was coming from, feeling how much it gotten worse during that phone call. He had been trying to keep it together for his sister, but it was like a having a nail hammered into your skull, every strike driving it deeper. If nothing else, it was extremely annoying, but it worried him. That much negative emotion doesn't come naturally except in a few rare circumstances. Another faunus rights protest, maybe? He decided he would have to check the news later after Team RWBY got back from their mission. Shaking his head, he returned to his current situation.

"There you have it, guys," Grey announced to the older huntsmen, "It may not be anything solid, since biological AI apparently isn't possible, but given what we already know about this peculiar substance…" Grey let the statement hang in the air. In truth, he didn't really know what to think, but he was trying to appear as if he knew more than he was letting on and having the professors fill in the blanks for him.

"It must be some kind of weapon," Ironwood offered, "Or a semblance even."

"I don't think so," Ozpin spoke up finally, "The molecular composition of the blood would dilute the weaponized properties of the dust which would make both useless to the huntsman, and aura cannot exist in this world for very long without a living being to attach to, so if this were as simple to explain away as a semblance, we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

The three of them continued to deliberate their options and what may have caused this trail. Unfortunately, Grey knew that this would only create more work for him in his already hectic life since he would be expected to either find the host of this evidence or use it to find the spies in the school since they might have something to do with it. It had crossed his mind that this perfect circle of a stain may have been some kind of rust, pipe leak, or something that may have fallen from an airship, but he begrudgingly realized that if that were the case, then his instructors wouldn't have called him up to the roof. They had already figured out that it wasn't a natural compound.

He still couldn't get that sharp headache out his skull. What was that? What was with this pull that was drawing his attention towards Mountain Glenn? An area overwhelmed with grimm? Where Team RWBY were currently doing their mission…

"Oh, fu-!" Grey couldn't finish the complaint. An explosion boomed throughout the entire city, sending a shockwave hard enough to shake the foundations of even the school building floating a mile in the sky, knocking each of the four huntsmen off their feet. In a matter of seconds, Grey's mind was filled with the fear of thousands of civilians. On his knees, he gripped his hair tightly and screamed in blinding agony until the panic alarm had begun to blare, the white noise giving the people enough of a false sense of comfort to get Grey back on his feet. How that worked, Grey neither knew nor cared. Ironwood was already helping him into the aircraft that Professor Port had commandeered with Team CFVY, being the only team left in the school, already on board and waiting for him and the teachers.

"I've already called for backup. I have someone waiting in a nearby outpost for a routine inspection, so they're just within range to hurry to our aid," Ironwood said in the stoic voice worthy of a military commander.

"Back up?" Coco said with a cocky, maniacal grin, "I hope they can keep up!" Ironwood smiled wisely at her.

"I think she'll manage," he claimed, "Your friend over there might know her." he nodded over to Grey who wasn't even listening. He was clenching his fists repeatedly as if he were itching to kill something, and even Coco faltered at the look he was shooting towards the rising smoke.

 _I'm coming, girls,_ he thought to himself, hyperfocusing on the screams from the crash site, _Don't disappoint me._

(...)

Ruby had never been in a battle before. Fighting the monsters of grimm was something she did on an almost daily basis, going hunting all the time with her sister and her father when they lived in Patch, but she had never been in a more dangerous situation than during Beacon's entrance exam in the Emerald Forest. Fighting a giant nevermore and a deathbringer were nothing compared to this.

Everything was too fast to process. She couldn't breath, she couldn't think, and she didn't know her shoulder was bleeding until she carried a small child over to her mother to see the girl's shirt come off painted a deep crimson. Ruby didn't even question it when she ripped off a strip of cloth from her cloak, the only memento she had of her mother, and used it as a bandage before wiping the sweat out of her eyes and jumping back into the fray. It was too hot to think anyway. All she could do was act.

She was currently perched on top of a bank. Selfishly, she knew the only reason she was there was to escape the battle so she could get a breather, but she still provided support using her sniper to try to take out as many grimm as possible. This should have been like shooting fish in a barrel for her, but her adrenaline made her shaky. Her breath was coming too quickly and her heart racing so hard that she couldn't stop trembling every time she aimed. She jumped off the roof before she recovered. Her friends, teammates, and the innocent people below had to come before her own well being, and she knew her scythe was better suited up close since she couldn't shoot.

Briefly, Yang jumped in her path and stole her kill against an ursa. Yang turned to Ruby, and unable to think of anything else to say, just yelled at her once and jumped off into battle again. The only evidence Blake was even there was when Ruby would turn around and find a group of grimm dissolving into ash. For a few seconds, she found herself fighting back to back with Weiss only to lose her again in the chaos. Weiss probably didn't even know Ruby was there.

Acting on instinct wasn't enough, though. It almost got her killed when she chased down a group of creepers next to the merchant boulevard, slayed them all, turned around and found herself trapped. She was killing everything she saw and was so blinded by her bloodlust that she didn't realize she was being hunted. Over a dozen griffins and twice as many beowolves had cornered her against the wall, and she wasn't able to maneuver around them or jump over them thanks to the deathstalker that was scuttling towards her. She readied her scythe. If she was going to go down, she wasn't going to make it easy. She was about to jump towards it and cut off its tail, but out of nowhere, something had fallen from the sky like a meteor and slammed the grimm's head into the ground, cracking its carapace. This new character roared and shot his arms out sideways, sending the other grimm flying in all directions. He turned to Ruby with a wry glint in his silver eyes.

"Ruby!" he called to her, "Are you alright?!" She didn't hesitate. She ran past him and decapitated a dwarf king taijitu that was about to bite him.

"I'm fine!" she shot at him, "We need to save the people!" Grey jumped to her side and threw a few punches at a pair of ursai, grabbing the mask of one and ripping it off to stab into the other.

"Save that for the knights," Grey challenged, "We're huntsmen. We hunt. Kill everything you see!"

Ruby couldn't help the chill that went down her spine at the way his voice snarled the command. She was acting on instinct alone, adrenaline fueling her every move and being mostly unaware of her actions, so she didn't question it when it happened. She gave into her animalistic cravings and gripped his shirt collar. She pulled him in and slammed her lips against his, not giving him a chance to respond and not really sure she wanted him to. Her body didn't allow it.

"You're mine after this!" she demanded, and running off into the battle again, Grey didn't have time to question what just happened. He was only barely able to avoid the boarbatusk that charged at him.

Coco just caught a glimpse of her favorite underclassmen from the airship. Yang Xiao-Long was surrounded by beowolves and fired shell after shotgun shell at them, not gaining any ground but not losing any either. She needed help so Coco jumped to the ground next to her and slapped her two hundred pound combat tote into everything in reach, clearing a path while her team went to work elsewhere. Glancing at a larger grimm, she dipped her sunglasses at it.

"You just destroyed my favorite clothing store," she noticed, "Prepare to die." She slapped it once, twice, then a third time with her bag until the thing was bowing at her feet. Bending over, sarcastically placing one hand on her knee and smiling flirtatiously at it, she swung and crushed its skull.

"You're nuts!" Yang shouted at the upperclassman since she had to cover her while she got her revenge, "Pay attention!"

"You want attention?! I'll give you attention!" Coco hissed, spitting on the ground then turning to the largest mass of enemies while her bag shifted to its minigun form, rapping while she peppered them with rounds, "Don't stop when I shoot, full auto is on! Your ass is grass and I'm mowing the lawn!"

"Yep, definitely crazy," Yang grumbled after having listened to that.

(...)

From the top of the communication tower, a person could see everything. The building had been evacuated thanks to the grimm attack, so if someone snuck in and had the proper equipment, they could easily survey the battlefield. It just so happened that two interlopers were doing just that.

"Hm…" said the taller man, his natural aura radiating off of him strongly enough to drain the light from the fluorescent bulbs hanging on the ceiling. His bright orange hair fell down to his shoulders in a nebula of literal flames, burning with the peaceful flow of a lazy creek, his skin ash grey, and his eyes a solid black without any iris or pupil. A clawed hand appeared from the black robe he wore and rubbed his scruffy chin in thought.

"It's just as I said, Master," reported the dark, assassin-type figure kneeling behind him.

"They both have silver eyes," the much more powerful monster of a man said to himself, ignoring the lesser being, "And the girl is getting close. Too close. But the boy?" he began biting the talon on his thumb, "What are you planning…?"

"Sir…?" the man at his feet asked. He wasn't sure if the last statement was directed at the boy in the city below them, or someone else.

"Hm? You're still here?" the dark figure turned finally to address his subordinate and lightly cupped the soldier's chin, his talons barely grazing the skin, "You know the rules. Go."

"As you command, My Lord!" with that, both of the observers of the battle left in a flash, the master in a vortex of darkness, returning the light to the room, and his minion in a flash of red, leaving a stain on the floor beneath him.

(...)

Weiss knew that fencing wasn't enough for battles like this, so she upgraded her saber with a dust cannon to create Myrtenaster when she was 12. Fire, ice, and lighting were flashing across the city like an apocalyptic light show. She was the daughter of a merchant of death, and she was going to use that expertise to bring that destruction to her enemies, the grimm, no matter how many canisters she had to go through or how many she had to kill. She would jump into a group of enemies, burn them all, run to the next, fry them, then impale yet another dozen, all in a few seconds, her body and the adrenaline powering it obeying her every command, her form flawless. She had acclimated to the battle like a natural- a true warrior.

Then, she saw Grey. She saw him throw his shields everywhere, crushing the grimm like bugs beneath his feet against walls, the ground, or each other, and unwaveringly diving into the most threatening area he could find just so he could decrease their numbers and save his friends. Weiss couldn't ignore the stirring in her loins and foolishly ran after him. When she saw the bestial snarl on his face, his anger and hatred towards the enemy creating the demon she knew and loved, her war-addled mind took over and took action to be close with him. Grey was hers, and she would kill anything that came near him. Except Ruby. If they weren't in immediate danger, Weiss would have shooed the junior away, but as things stood, they needed to catch their breath and had killed enough grimm to create the opportunity.

"Everyone's out," Grey said, "Body count?"

"Not enough," Ruby said, still seeing the grimm coming out of the tunnel, "Or too much," she followed up, grimacing at the limp bodies lining the streets. Professors Port and Oobleck were working with General Ironwood to close off the breach, but given the particular shape of the tunnel, there wasn't much they could until they created a barricade. They were in luck, though. Just as another wave of grimm began to emerge from the hole, a fancy ship with flags on the wings flew by, shooting the area around the cave and closing it off, killing the emerging grimm instantly.

"That must be Ironwood's reinforcements," Grey grinned joyously. Now they wouldn't have to deal with an endless loop of death. This fight would end soon.

"Winter!" Weiss cheered, grinning happily and waving at the ship. Grey turned her around roughly with a panicked look.

"That's your sister?!" he screamed. Weiss nodded at him, slightly in shock, then turned and waved at the ship once more. Grey bit his lip. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. He smiled to himself, though. If that was what he would have to deal with, or if the universe was trying to send him some kind of message about his love life, then he would gladly fight this next battle.

"AHHHH!" Ruby shrieked. She doubled over onto the ground, clawing at her eyes and being unable to do anything but wail. She even dropped Crescent Rose, a warrior's biggest dishonor to themselves.

"Ruby- Gah!" Grey faltered mid step when he went to check on her and collapsed onto his side, flailing his body every which way and shrieking just as loudly as his comrade. Unlike Ruby's claws, he pressed his hands to his eyes as if to crush them. Weiss looked between them. She panicked. She didn't know what to do for them, if there was anything she could do, so she just used her ice to hold their arms down and prevent them from hurting themselves. Was this a poison? A gas? Why wasn't it affecting her or anyone else?

Their screaming stopped just as fast as it started. Their silver eyes had this far off look to them, the spark of life in them drained to nonexistence. The lack of life in their eyes made them seem dead, or hypnotized, and with this trance they easily broke free of their bonds.

"Guys?" Weiss asked nervously. They didn't pay her any mind, only standing up and turning their heads with that zombie expression in the same direction. She turned to see what they were looking at.

There was a man. It didn't seem that he had any affiliation to the huntsmen in the battle, or the grimm. He didn't even seem real. The longer Weiss looked at him, the more and more he seemed to be drawing her into an alternate space, making the effects from the battle they were in the midst of disappear. Reality seemed to bend and warp around him. The area around her vision twisted into a mystical tunnel ending right where this man was standing. If Weiss got this effect just from looking at him, then she knew he had to be the one hurting her friends. In the man's right hand, she could see a saber glowing with red energy held at the ready, and if that wasn't scary enough, if the trench coat didn't cross the threshold of "creep," the demon mask around the lower half of his face definitely did the job. She didn't have any time to question what she would do. Ruby and Grey were already running after him.

She was filled with dread, but it wasn't from the battle or from this new enemy. Whoever he was, his arrival meant nothing good.

 **(A/N) Nothing is here. Check the end of 2.5 if you want an ending note. Besides that, don't forget to like, favorite, follow, review, start a flame war, overthrow a tyrannical government or learn to river dance. Have a good week, Beautiful Hunters! Don't forget, next chapter should be up at the normal time.**

 **(A/N 2) On an unrelated note that has nothing to do with War of OA, for those of you who are waiting on another "Daily Life in the Hunter's Dream" for Bloodborne, I'm working on one. I've also officially decided what my next long term project will be, and will post the first chapter by the end of 2017 or very early in 2018 depending on how War of OA works out, but until War of OA is finished, that will update about as sporadically as Daily Life, but more frequently due to it having a plot. Once War of OA is finished, this new story will take over its update schedule. However, unless I start updating three times a month, that won't be for awhile. Check out my profile for more details!**


	10. Act 2, Chapter 5

**(A/N) I know I said this one would come out on the usual time, but after thinking for a bit, I figured that given the nature of this chapter, posting it before Halloween would be best. I honestly did not plan for this to be a Halloween chapter, though. As for what happens in this update…**

 **Just… don't kill me.**

 **Act 2**

Chapter 5

Death. Team RWBY had never known the meaning of the word until their failed mission in Mountain Glenn had started a grimm invasion in the heart of Beacon. This level of destruction and chaos was worthy of the history books about the Great War, but seeing buildings collapse and people die was never the worst part. It was seeing a little boy cry over his lost home, a homeless man risking his life to save his dog only to lose both in the process, or an older brother standing his ground against insurmountable odds to protect his recently orphaned younger siblings. It was the discarded shoes of a toddler covered in blood. It was the toddler crying over the corpses of his parents. It was the indiscriminate way the enemy razed libraries, orphanages, hospitals and retirement homes, leaving no one alone, no matter how insignificant.

After years of hunting, it officially sunk in what Ruby was fighting against. She was the definition of a combat addict and would often go out into the woods outside of Patch hunting grimm to hone her skills, or just to entertain herself and Yang would often follow her for the same reason. Blake grew up outside the kingdoms and learned at an early age how to defend herself out of necessity, but she had only fought for herself or those closest to her, and Weiss had grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth, living with the threat of grimm attacks as some kind of nonexistent dream until she enrolled at Beacon. Even after months at the Academy, none of them knew the truly harrowing threat that always loomed over them. They all knew that grimm were designed without any kind of soul, and killed everything in their path except other grimm, but they didn't realize just what that meant when they saw people who couldn't defend themselves suffer at their claws and fangs. Beyond that mindless entity, however, was something much worse.

Humans. Faunus. Groups organized around central ideals and promoting them through the use of force and violence. It wasn't grimm that should have scared huntsmen, no matter their numbers. The real danger to society were the sentient races, intelligent enough to understand the difference of right and wrong, and justify their most evil actions through whatever lies they had to tell themselves that would let them sleep at night, just like some were doing now as they took advantage of the chaos to riot and loot everything they could find.

Right now, all Weiss could focus on was the man in the demon mask kidnapping her friends.

"Guys, stop! You need to think about this!" She called after them, using every one of her glyphs to try to catch up to their sonic speed. They weren't listening to her. For all she knew, this man's hypnotic ability had completely blocked out any and all distractions so Ruby and Grey might not even know she was there. They certainly weren't waiting for each other. If either of them lagged behind or tripped, the other would charge ahead without caring about their partner's safety, and they didn't even realize that this man was leading them away from the main battle. Not caring about even each other let Weiss know just how deep the control over their minds went.

Weiss had noticed something even worse. He wasn't just running from them, he was leading them somewhere. Weiss knew she couldn't leave Grey and Ruby to fend for themselves against him because it hadn't yet sunk in that he was nothing more than a bluff that they were falling for.

He finally stopped in an alleyway, free of any other people. It was one of the bigger kinds of alleys that had multiple side paths leading to the main street, all intersecting into one big square that would have been great for underground street fights or other illegal activities requiring a lot of space. He landed on his knees, Ruby and Grey stopping ten feet away from him with their weapons ready, their eyes blind with animalistic fury. Weiss watched with that sinking feeling in her stomach growing worse as this man slowly rose to his feet, the fanged smile on his mask sending shivers up her spine. Looking closer, Weiss gasped. He didn't have any eyes. In place of the orbs was nothing more than spaces where she could see right into his skull. He took the tricorne off his head and threw it to the ground.

"Glad you decided to join me," he said, Weiss wincing at the guttural ululation of his voice.

"Did they even have a choice?" Weiss demanded, sauntering forward between her comrades with her rapier ready in her hand and leveling it at his chest. Grey and Ruby looked at her dazedly.

"Weiss?" the younger girl asked dreamily. "What are you doing here?" She turned on them sharply, mistakenly turning her back on her enemy.

"And what are you doing following him away from the battle? Are you trying to get everyone killed? They need us there!" Weiss spat at them. One glance over her shoulder and a violent smirk rose on her cheek when she saw the man's eyebrows arch in surprise at her intervention. He wasn't expecting her. And if she wasn't supposed to be there, that meant that maybe she could… She turned back to Grey and Ruby and slapped both of them as hard as she could, the _smack_ from the impact cracking all around the urban arena. They both stumbled back and grabbed their cheeks.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Grey hissed, glaring at the woman, but when he saw the man standing just behind her, he thrust his hand out and blocked the strike the assassin was bringing down with his semblance, "Oh, so that's why."

Weiss turned in fear just as Grey powered up his defense, threw a strong right haymaker towards his opponent shooting out a shield, and blasted the warrior backwards into the concrete. That particular kinetic strike was powerful enough that it had knocked Pyrrha off her feet twice before, but this man took it easily and only slid back a few feet. Grey smiled. Both of the girls knew that smile, and neither of them liked it. He put his hands back up and began bouncing on the balls of his feet, true to his martial artist nature, that excited smirk just behind his guard.

"This is going to be fun…" he said to himself, and Weiss still couldn't shake off the feeling that he was wrong. She had never seen anyone take that hit from him and stay standing, or at least not be stunned, and that one strike aside, he wasn't the best fighter. This enemy huntsman was out of his league. The three of them needed to get out of their and get back to the main battle before something happened that they couldn't avoid. Ruby glanced over at her long time partner and nodded at her, sending a silent message that she agreed with her plan, but just before they were able to grab him, he was already charging. Ruby squeaked.

"OK! Guess we're doing this!" She whined quietly and flanked the hunter while Grey jabbed and blocked against that glowing saber. Ruby slid past them and swiped Crescent rose around their legs which Grey jumped over at the same time their enemy phased backward through it in a fine red mist. Grey was fast enough to shoot a shield at his opponent before he reformed, but the hunter was faster and blocked it expertly after he reformed. Weiss was already on the move and used the wall next to her to sprint on the hunter's other side and freeze his legs in place. Ruby followed up with an overhead strike which he guarded against easily, almost tiredly. Grey used a platform to launch himself down to him and slammed his hand against Crescent Rose to increase the weight, sending the hunter to his knees, and when he and Ruby separated, all three of them charged the hunter from different angles, but he was having none of it. He stood back up just as Weiss reached him and even though he was cemented in place, he was able to meet her blade blow for blow. She backed up for Grey to grab his arms from behind and Ruby to slice at his throat, but it wasn't enough to break his composure, and flipping Grey over his back, Ruby halted her strike, twisted around while shifting her scythe's form, and shooting the hunter in the chest.

Was this all they had? The hunter jolted his body, dodging the bullets easily, and just before Grey and Weiss could join back in, he sighed, and swiped his saber through the air like a baseball bat. It sent a shockwave that sent Weiss, Grey, and Ruby flying into the walls behind them.

"Dammit, what is this guy?" Grey cursed.

"You're an idiot!" Weiss responded eloquently before getting back on her feet. That insult wouldn't say much to most people, but Grey understood her bitter communication style well enough to know what she meant. They couldn't beat this guy.

Ruby was the first to get to her feet and charged back into the fight, followed by Weiss who took turns trading blows, enchanted with dust and surrounded by rose petals, but they couldn't land a single strike. He was playing with them. His sword was moving like this fight was a dance, his offhand resting lightly at his back. Fortunately, Grey was back up and put a wall behind him which the hunter ran into during his ballet, giving Weiss time to land a successful strike, but even with a puncture wound through his stomach, he was still on the move. Dropping his saber, he grabbed Weiss's wrist and threw her into Ruby, both hitting the wall, then just as Grey ran at him with a blade coming out from under his left wrist to stab into the man's throat, he did nothing more than hold out his palm, stopping Grey in his tracks. Ruby and Weiss looked on as Grey was pulled to his knees by an unseen force. His mouth opened and closed as if he was unable to breath, and his hands went to his throat to add to the image of asphyxiation. The hunter's shoulders bounced once as if he were scoffing at the man kneeling before him, then violently grabbed his throat and slammed him harshly against the wall opposite of the girls.

"Is that all?" he growled lowly, "I was expecting so much more from you. Your energy is unique. It's not something I've ever seen before on your kind, and I was hoping that killing you would be… what's the word you mortals use? Exciting? You disappoint me, child. Now, die!"

The hunter reached up and wrapped his other hand around Grey's throat, cutting off the rest of his airflow. Grey wasn't weak, being on par with Yang's level of physical strength on a good day, but no matter how hard he tried to fight against this guy's grip, the man wasn't letting up. He lifted Grey off the ground. With the loss of his legs, all of his leverage was removed, making Grey's hopes of ripping the hunter's arms away impossible, so his last hope was to take the amateur's way out and grab at his face. He clawed and punched but it didn't work. He even took his blades and guns and began firing every weapon he had in his gauntlets into the man's body, and even that looked like it was making the hunter's grip tighter. He looked over at Ruby and Weiss desperately for help. They were looking at him in fear, desiring to help him even more than he wanted to breath again, but they just stood there, frozen with a vacant expression in their eyes. The hunter had to have hypnotized them like he had done to him and Ruby earlier. He could have done that at any time probably, but only chose now to do so. Suddenly, the hunter screamed and the girls lurched forward, fully conscious now as if whatever was holding them back had let go. Grey was dropped to the ground. As he gasped for air and blinked a few times to get the black spots out of his vision, he looked up at the hunter who was spitting expletives and shaking his smoking hands fervently.

"What in the world was that?!" he yelled, turning back to Grey with his eyebrows knitted in a scowl, "You have silver eyes. You have silver eyes and yet I still can't kill you! Just what are you exactly? Tsk. It doesn't matter! Not at all! That girl over there is still vulnerable." Grey's eyes took on a small shade of red at his last words, and he jumped for his enemy.

"Don't you touch-!" he didn't get very far. He reached his hand out to grab the man's collar and throw him on the ground in an attempt to get the upper hand, but the hunter was faster. His punch was faster and hard enough to shock Grey enough to stop him. He followed it up with a dozen more rapid fire punches, getting Grey to completely drop his guard and blinding him with the blunt trauma until he dropped to his knees one more time. The last hit was a kick to his head, knocking him to the ground, all too fast for Weiss and Ruby to react in time.

The rest of the fight went by in a blur. Grey's vision faded in and out as consciousness repeatedly slipped from him, seeing the girls try to hold their own against this enemy and failing miserably. Grey saw them go at him from the sides only to each get slapped away. He blacked out again and when he came to, he saw Weiss being held up in the air by her throat with the hunter's telekinesis while Ruby struggled to stand up and keep fighting, the former getting thrown into a dumpster to the side. One more time, and he saw the hunter slashing at a disarmed Ruby like she were nothing more than a training dummy, Crescent Rose lying shattered on the ground beside her. Grey had just enough mental clarity to see the trouble she was in and try to stand up, but he couldn't he even get off of his knees. He saw Weiss jump out of her prison so maybe she would be able to help, but the hunter didn't even turn her way when he kicked her in the stomach. Grey tried crawling over to Ruby. He needed to help. He needed to stop this monster. She was on her knees now and still out of reach.

 _Shluk!_

"Wha… What?" Grey stammered. Weiss had gotten back up and was about to run in to help, but she stopped herself. She couldn't move even if she tried. The scene she was looking at had jolted Grey back to life. He could see the blood spilling from the cleaved wound in Ruby's neck, the red coming from her throat and a defiant fear glimmering in her eyes.

The hunter moved away as Grey and Weiss ran over to their team leader, Grey pulling her head into his lap as her limp body fell to the ground, not caring about her blood drenched his clothes. She was gasping, gurgling, looking into his eyes. Weiss knelt next to both of them, tears threatening to spill from her own eyes as Ruby looked at her friends with the only one thing prevalent on her face. It was a silent message. A call for help, if nothing else. She couldn't speak with her severed shoulder beginning to fall from her body, but as the life began to drain from her silver eyes, the last thing Grey and Weiss saw on her face was unambiguously clear.

 _I don't want to die._

"Ruby. Ruby wake up. Please come back to me!" Grey whimpered through choking sobs, "You can't do this! You promised me you would take me to Patch one day, remember? You said I could meet your mom, Summer. Ruby? Ruby, please… Don't do this to me…"

Weiss's voice died in her throat. Her hands had jumped up to her face to cover the streams of tears falling down her cheeks, and she refused to make the shaking of her shoulders verbalized into sounds of grief. She couldn't. She just couldn't show how much this hurt. She couldn't believe that Ruby had been killed by this… this beast. The girl was too stubborn to fall in battle. How could she die so easily? How could Weiss live with herself knowing that she let her die, that she could have pulled both of them away from the fight if she had just tried a bit harder?

"My work here is done," echoed the hunter's voice in her mind as he began to walk away. His back was turned to the pair of survivors. He didn't see them as any kind of threat, and judging by the way he sheathed his sword at his hip, he wasn't going to treat them as one either. Weiss, however, wasn't about to let him leave.

"You think I'm done with you…?" she asked quietly. It was just loud enough for the hunter to hear her and turn around, not really caring what was about to come next. He looked at her with an annoyed furrow to his brow. Weiss glanced once at Grey still grieving over Ruby's corpse and stood up with a deadly resolve that she would make things right, and in her combat sleeves, she pulled out a single canister of violet dust and held up Myrtenaster to ready it. This was her last resort. This is how she would make things right between her and Ruby.

 **(...)**

"General Ironwood," called the disciplined woman as she stepped up to her commander. Her normally pristine, stark white uniform was covered in ash from the numerous grimm she slaughtered with her cutlass, a dozen nevermore that shared the shade of her aura flying around her body.

"Schnee," Ironwood greeted her, "Report."

"The main threat has been taken care of," Winter listed off, "The remaining grimm are retreating and the wounded are being taken care of as we speak. We are establishing a body count of both Atlas tech and Vale citizens, and are taking role of the huntsmen of Beacon."

Ironwood nodded to her somberly then turned back to leading his other troops. His direct lieutenant knew her role, and he knew she could handle it efficiently, flawlessly, and without fail. Leaving him, Winter sent her summons to the dilapidated streets and buildings to gather up any kind of materials she could use to treat the wounded and delivered them to the field hospitals set up for the soldiers that successfully staved off the grimm. It was largest attack on a city in decades. Hiding her exhaustion from the thought, she praised any warrior she could see for their efforts. After a few minutes, a beep hit her scroll. The body count was high at 23, but could be worse. There were still over a hundred Vale citizens missing, but even as she read that number, it was dropping rapidly as her men worked to recover them, the number of deaths rising only twice. The real issue for her was more personal. When she read the list of all the huntsmen who had checked in at the rendezvous points, she harrowingly noticed a spot that should not have been empty.

"Ruby! Ruby, where are you?!" she heard a woman's voice call out from one of the infirmaries. She was a tall and busty blonde with the most gorgeous hair Winter had ever laid eyes on, just the type Winter had been told never to associate with by her father, but her duty to the people made her snooty upbringing take a backseat.

"You there!" Winter said, walking over to her with purpose, "You aren't looking for Ruby Rose, are you? Leader of Team RWBY?" The woman looked at Winter defensively.

"Who are you?" she asked venomously.

"Yang, be nice. She's with the Atlas military," said another girl behind the blonde. This one was tall and slender, and dressed like a goth whom Winter wouldn't have even bothered to notice under normal circumstances. Winter bit back her retort to Yang and spoke politely, clenching her fists.

"My name is Winter Schnee," she greeted, and smiled lightly when they saw the recognition dawn in their eyes. Mentally, she was thankful she read Weiss's letters dozens of times out of nostalgia for her baby sister. "I'm looking for Weiss. Have either of you seen her by any chance?"

"No," Yang said, shaking her head, "I can't find Ruby either."

"Grey's missing too," the goth girl spoke up. Wasn't Grey that boy Weiss had a strong affection for? Winter saved that question for later and pulled out her scroll.

"I have temporary access to the security system, like street cameras, here in Vale. Just give me a few minutes. Maybe we'll get lucky and won't have to send out an entire search party this early in Vale's recovery," she explained, typing a few buttons. Yang's eyes went wide at the thought of her sister needing to be found by a group, thinking the worst immediately since that was how they found Summer, but fortunately, Blake was there to put her hand on Yang's shoulder and comfort her. However, when Winter put on the same expression, no amount of comfort could help. "Weiss, don't you dare! You boob!"

Winter didn't waste any time or energy sprinting to the spot where the cameras spotted her. Weiss wouldn't dare be that stupid.

 **(...)**

Weiss was definitely that stupid. The minute she put that canister into Myrtenaster and turned the weapon's tip towards herself, the hunter cackled loudly. She couldn't be serious could she? Apparently, she was if the sound of steel entering flesh and the agonized yelp that followed were anything to go by. Grey looked up in fear. He had thought that sound was the hunter killing another one of his comrades, but he what he saw was much, much worse.

"Weiss… You didn't," he whimpered.

"I'm sorry, Grey," she said sadly, "I had no choice."

Grey's best friend, the only one still alive, turned her head back to her enemy, her friend's murderer, as her normally icy blue eyes grew darker, her irises and pupils fading away for every inch to turn as violet as the dust she injected within herself. Her feet lifted off the ground as her entire body floated in the air. Grey felt the gravity around the area weakening because of her aura, but was strangely just as unaffected as the hunter by this effect, hardly even losing his balance when he stood. Through his pain, he smiled when the hunter twitched, recognizing Weiss as a real threat. This murderer was going to regret taking Ruby from them. She thrust her hands out to her sides. A boom roared through the alley and the dumpsters, trash cans, and every bit of debris their fight had created lifted into the air.

The hunter cut the first dumpster that was thrown at him like it was wet toilet paper. He wasn't as lucky when he cut the second one only to receive shattered bits of glass into every inch of his body, followed up by a steel trash can throwing itself over his head. Weiss took another two cans and began pounding them against the one covering the hunter repeatedly, concussing him deftly. With a roar, the hunter blasted his prison to bits. His mask had fallen off to reveal a shark's mouth that went all around to his ears, which Weiss only got a quick glimpse of before she slammed one half of the previously bisected dumpsters onto his head. Then another. Then the next two. Then alternating all four of them, hovering around him in a circle to see her barrage from all angle. The hunter was on his back, but managed to use that red energy of his to turn the steel to ash, taking each half of the dumpsters out of the equation, but one look around the perimeter and Weiss wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Behind you, murderer," Weiss hissed, her voice layered over multiple times by the dust flowing through her system. The hunter started to turn around to slash at her throat, but Myrtenaster was already impaled through his stomach, and she even followed that up by charging her aura along the blade to hit him with multiple missiles of gravity just as sharp as her sword. The hunter still wasn't defeated, but now he was mad. He turned his middle section to mist and pivoted to finish his strike, but with the dust powering her up, she moved behind him in the blink of an eye, blocking Grey with her body. She blocked multiple strikes from the hunter by holding her hand out and pushing his weapon aside. She wasn't even touching him. All she did was create an antigravity around her body that would do the work for her, making beating this enemy that had demolished all three of them a second ago look like child's play. He continued to slash at her, but she slashed her own blade up and disarmed him. She stalked toward him as he summoned his saber back into his hands, ready to attack her again, but she disarmed him again, making him stumble. She did this until they were out of the alley and into the nearest street.

Suddenly, she flicked her wrist and an invisible force knocked the hunter off his feet, but instead of flying backwards, the second his feet left the ground, Weiss used her gravity to trap him in an airborne stasis. She blinked towards him and hit him with a flurry of slashes and stabs so fast that Grey couldn't follow them.

She kicked the hunter into the air, but instead of putting him into another stasis to follow things up, her face contorted with effort as she ripped the very earth apart and began throwing boulders at her opponent. Every rock shattered to bits when they hit him. When each compound of gravel divided into pebbles, she belted him with every bit of earth that was in the air like machine gun fire, and even after that, she hadn't finished. With the effort she put into her next strike, the gravity dust lifted her into the air again as she summoned as much power as possible, ripping the walls, sidewalks, and even more of the street apart from the earth and slammed them together to create a prison around her enemy. Then, she slammed it into the ground. The crash made the very earth shake, and Grey knew in the back of his mind that everyone in the entire city must have felt that. Grey was on his, running towards Weiss as her final attack ended her power up, making her fall out of the air.

She was… exhausted. Her limbs felt like they were ripping themselves off of her body, and the fatigue coursing through her muscles made it too difficult to move. Even if she had the stamina, she couldn't stand if she wanted to. The poison was too much for her, and she knew that after using that much power at once wouldn't make her last much longer. At least she got her revenge. At least she made things right.

Most of her nerve endings had been severed by the time the dust reached her nervous system, but she could still feel herself falling into Grey's arms. Barely able to open her eyes, she smiled up at him weakly.

"Weiss! Weiss you idiot! You complete moron! You dolt! You- you..." she barely heard his voice.

"Grey?" Weiss asked, her eyes turning back to their normal shade but because of how the dust worked, they had grown milky and dull, turning her blind.

"I'm here, Snow Angel. I've got you," he told her in a blind panic, the quivering in his voice unable to be masked, "Why would you do something so stupid?!"

"I… I had to make it right," Weiss's voice was barely audible as she explained, "I couldn't… I couldn't let Ruby… die without-" she coughed up a powdery, lavender liquid that spilled over her mouth, "without getting revenge. Yeah… I hated her. She was so annoying, and… and such a child… but, she... she grew on me. I got attached. She didn't really give me a choice. She was my best friend, and I… I couldn't let her die in cold blood."

"Weiss…" Grey's whimper was back, tears once more pooling in his eyelids, "But you… you'll…" he couldn't say the words. He couldn't face this reality again when it had just happened only moments ago. Not with her.

"I know…" Weiss only had enough energy to do one more thing, and if she was going to die, she wasn't going to die without being honest with the man she loved. There were better ways to tell someone how you feel than killing yourself to avenge someone you didn't even like, but since now was her only chance, she didn't really have any other options. Using the last bit of her fading life force, she reached up, grabbed Grey's neck, and pulled him down for one last goodbye. She kissed him. Her lips were as weak as her smile, and the kiss didn't last long, but just one second of barely making contact was all she could do before her head fell limply against her shoulder.

"That girl," a voice came from where the meteor Weiss had created crashed into the ground, "That girl was something else, you know? She was the first one to push me back and keep me running like that. Didn't land a single hit. She had to kill herself to do it, but she was entertaining. That was some real fun."

Grey didn't know what to think. He couldn't think. After all that work, after all of the death he had caused, the hunter still wasn't dead. Not only was this villain, this butcher still alive, he was still able to stand and speak and mock the two people who had saved Grey's life. To say Grey was angry was inaccurate, and "depressed" would be an understatement. No, he couldn't feel anything. After watching what just happened, Grey wasn't angry, sad, nor homicidal. He was simply empty. He wiped his eyes. Gently, with as much care as he would treat an injured animal, he pulled Weiss from his lap, carried her away for a few feet, and set her down next to Ruby's still warm body. It was almost funny when he thought about it. After all of the drama they had put each other through all year and all of the battles they fought side by side, they had to die to finally become friends? It was hilarious, really. Hilarious.

Breathing tensely, fuming, trying to contain his rage that fueled the black hole where his heart used to be, Grey stepped over to the hunter. The hunter was already walking away. The girls were dead, Grey broken beyond repair, so why should the hunter stay? There was no threat. He couldn't kill Grey anyway, so what would be the point?

"How… How dare you!" Grey's fists were balling at his sides. The debris from Weiss's assault deteriorated into thin air from the way his aura blazed, and the hunter found the heat to be insufferable. He turned with an infuriated scoff, only for his nonexistent eyes to go wide. His aura had become visible. And it was red? The only energy the hunter knew of that came in that color, radiated with that kind of heat, and ripped nearby objects out of existence wasn't something a human should be able to possess. Not even someone with silver eyes.

"They were my friends!" Grey shouted, his shoulders tensing. When he said the last word, the earth beneath him cracked, splitting the ground he stood on.

"They were my family!" he shouted and this time the cracks turned to a crater.

"I…" the aura weakened for a second, his arms lowering, but then returned and doubled its previous strength when he released his words, "I loved them!" The last scream shattered the very foundations of the buildings around him, showing a level of power that normal sentient creatures, even master huntsmen, would never be capable of. The hunter watched as the buildings around Grey fell off of their support structures, caving in and falling around the boy, crushing him. Each one of them fell right on top of his head. There was no way anyone could have survived that, but given what the hunter had just witnessed from that snowy girl, he wasn't putting anything to chance, and watched intently as the dust from the collapse settled. Once the visibility had been restored, the hunter grinned devilishly at the boy's survival. This beast of a man was walking out of the rubble like nothing had even happened. The debris psychokinetically pushed itself out of his way like Grey was a god they worshipped. Unfortunately, for the hunter, this wasn't Grey anymore.

 **"I'll kill you."** That was the voice of Black Steele.

The hunter twitched at that voice. It was deeper, more resonant, a complete bass whereas before he was a tenor, and his eyes were a blazing crimson and slit pupiled, surrounded by black. He was outright demonic now. He seemed more like a grimm than a human. Actually, after watching his two best friends get killed, the women he "loved" or whatever, he probably was a grimm at this point, or something similar. Wait, why was the hunter flying?

He didn't even see Black move when he was punched, but somehow the kid had landed it, and the contact had the hunter's face melting off, dripping onto his coat. Suddenly, he was getting hit from all sides by something invisible, and just at a glimpse, he saw Black pointing at him, flicking his finger in all directions, making him realize that his semblance had had a major power boost, just like his physical abilities. Black was using his shields as 360 degree machine gun fire. The hunter had been holding back during this entire fight, even against that princess, but now it didn't seem like he had that luxury.

He teleported over to where Black was standing, just within his guard and slashed at his chest, launching him down the street, but Black recovered instantly within the trench he had formed. He was back on his feet and charged the hunter who met him just as fiercely, but Black was the first one to make his move, feinting with his right, blocking the slash to his head with the armor of Animus, then coming back up with an uppercut to the hunter's gut. The hunter gasped out of his eldritch jaw, spitting up a neon ebony blood. The hit itself wasn't that strong, but it was followed by a series of shields into his solar plexus that was enough to crack his ribs and make him stumble backwards, gripping his abdomen, a fist sized hole tearing his shirt open. Black followed up with a left towards the hunter's face, shooting his shield cannon one more time, but this time, the hunter intercepted each strike with his saber, shooting his energy through the blade so the aura within the kinetic missiles would disperse, negating the semblance. Black arched his eyebrow. Aura doesn't just automatically disappear like that. He jumped back, smirking. An idea was forming in his head.

 **"Be honest with me, Murderer,"** Black declared regally, placing his hands in his pockets and stepping around his enemy, **"What are you, really? My weaker counterpart may be too blinded by his manhood to realize it, but I'm not so foolish to miss the little game you're playing. You're not a human, nor are you a faunus. The energy surrounding you is nothing less than unique, and being able to destroy aura? Absolutely incredible. That energy of yours… the thing that allows you to break through my barriers… Did you know I've seen it before? You'd think a spy would know better than to leave a trail behind on the school's roof, especially when an energy that's as delicious as yours is difficult to forget. Although, what I can't figure out, is how you've managed to break every law of biology in Remnant's history. You're not real, are you Murderer? You're just a synthetic creation, aren't you?"** The hunter flinched. How could he possibly have figured that much out? Sure, he's quite clearly a zombie, but there's no way he could have realized that he was a frankenstein. Black halted his pacing and turned back to the hunter, putting his hands up. **"I trust you'll tell me who created you… After I've ripped you to shreds…"**

Black closed the distance with a rocket propelled dash from his boots, then used the same rockets to flip forward and send an axe kick to the hunter's skull, but had to redirect his body to avoid getting his foot cut off by the sword raised to block it. He twisted away, torqued his hips and used his rockets one more time to send his other foot in a roundhouse kick to his enemy's jaw. The opponent smashed through the wall of the nearest building, but Black had to move immediately as the hunter jumped at him from the building on the opposite side of the street. Even without a real human appearance, Black could see the fury in those empty sockets.

He wouldn't give up the high ground. He raised his left hand towards his opponent and latches began opening up in the armor across its entire length, and just as the hunter hit the ground where Black had been a second ago, dozens of missiles fired out of Animus, exploding against the hunter's body. Smoke billowed down the street, but Black wasn't an idiot. Blinded by anger, perhaps, but he hadn't forgotten about the mist, and had already raised the serrated sword on the side of Albatross to block the enemy's weapon coming at his face. Grey wasn't a swordsman and Black wasn't much better, but he was able to hold his own. Using a kinetic barrier to block anything his sword couldn't but failing to get under the hunter's guard, it didn't take long before the hunter realized he wasn't going to succeed in his assault and teleported behind his enemy. Black didn't even flinch. His shield blocked the slash that was coming to his neck, but instead of turning and attacking, he slyly looked over his shoulder, that caustic smirk still on his face. Why? How? What was with this monster that he could look so calm during a fight this intense?

 **"Give up. Allow me to make this quick."** Black growled. The hunter's face twitched.

"You think I'll just accept that?" he growled, a circle of power glowing under his feet, wings of a gargoyle sprouting from his back and horns of the same creature appearing in his forehead, "I am more powerful than the maidens could ever hope to be! I have slain a hundred bearers of the silver eyes! Do you think the right hand of the one who created them would bow to a seventeen year old upstart like you?!"

Black didn't have time to react when the circle of power shifted, shooting a number of projectiles towards him, bouncing off everything they touched until they hit him, grazing his skin. He jumped out of the way, flipping, bending and twisting to avoid getting hit because even though Black still had plenty of aura left, and his semblance was based entirely on defense, these tendrils could pierce right through it, and it only took seconds for him to be covered in cuts and scratches. Blood was covering most of his body. The hunter twitched once more, however, when he caught that smirk still on his face.

 **"So, you still had a trick up your sleeve!"** Black shouted to him over the sound of tearing flesh, **"So do I."**

Black hit the ground after jumping over one of the weapons and put his hand up next to his head as if he were about to slap a fly away from his face. The hunter grinned again, ready to end this. There was nothing on Remnant that could block one of his Astral Blades, so he knew the fight was over right then and there, that Black was giving up. He wasn't moving. Black stayed in his place as he waited for his doom.

However, Black didn't move because he didn't have to. Raising up his hand, he flicked his wrist just as one of the tendrils was about to hit him, and unlike the centuries of battle before this one single duel, the hunter's blades had been broken for the first time. The hunter roared and sent every single one of them after his target. Black began moving around this time but more slowly, never once leaving the ground and only bobbing his head around should a blade get too close, waving his hands around to continue his last stand. He shadowboxed, throwing punches in the air, but it was too late when hunter saw what was happening. Coming from Blacks' hands were orbs of aura, boiling and shaking violently as they flew through the air, and the hunter figured out the secret.

 **"You see, normally, the energy you're using to negate my aura would easily break through Grey's aura. Even my presence in his body wouldn't change that,"** Black explained, placing his hands in his pockets and stalking towards the hunter again as the fear prevented him from continuing his attack, storming over swiftly, **"But a simple fusion was all we needed. By combining my aura with his, we turned his defensive semblance into a weapon capable of overpowering even your own. You see, if you haven't noticed, my energy is similar to yours. You and I shouldn't be able to exist, and that's why I destroy everything around me just by being conscious, but for some reason, you can control it. Not only that, you've turned it into a weapon. Showing me that skill was your biggest mistake since it gave me the idea to do the same. By casing my energy in Grey's barriers, we've created bombs that can break through your blades with ease. First, his shield is sacrificed in order to halt your blades' momentum, then my aura uses those cracks to cancel them out. It's really that simple."**

The hunter didn't move. He couldn't. For the first time in over a thousand years, he had been beaten, and it been at the hands of none other than some mutant version of the silver eyes. As his head left his body, he only had one thought. _Things might actually change now…_

Black sighed and began loosening up his shoulders. It was over. He had won the fight which admittedly hadn't been that easy, but it was fun now that he thought about it. Now was time to take a prize. Which limb would he sever?

 _Clap… clap… clap…_ Black turned his head to face the noise. Really? A newcomer this late in the show? Black just wanted to sit back and enjoy the ecstasy that came with murdering a murderer, but did he really have to kill someone else before he could relax? It wasn't like he could persist in Grey's body for very long. He was basically poisoning him at the moment, burning him and tearing him apart all at once just like the dust had done to Weiss earlier. Scowling, he watched a man with ashen skin, his long orange hair dancing like fire, black veins cracking across his arms and even blacker eyes examining the scene step forward.

"I can't say I expected that," the man said, his voice scraping against Black's mind like a knife, making even him grimace, "Of all things, you were what killed him. I can't say I'm not impressed." Black's smile fell, his eyes sizing up this new opponent casually.

 **"And you are?"** he asked.

"Friend, enemy, god of this universe. Whichever you prefer," he said apathetically, "In the future, who I am to you will be more important, but for now, just consider me an interested party. I will be watching you very closely from now on. You see, my hunter was created to kill people of your kind, the Bearers of the Eyes of Onyx, but you seem to be different than your predecessors. You kill with reckless abandon. Friend and foe hold no difference to you. Yet, somehow, you hold the silver eyes, making you a walking contradiction. You've interested me. You, my Dear Black Steele, are quite the enigma. The Eyes, the Maidens, and now you… Things are getting out of hand. I look forward to seeing what role you play in our game."

With that, the man before him, this potential enemy had turned away. Black could see that the dark sky falling around them wasn't the hour of twilight, instead the darkness was hugging this "god" like a shroud, or an aura, his very presence affecting the world around them, signifying his power. He was right, though. Black didn't care who he killed. As long as there was someone close by who could die, Black wanted their blood on his hands, and charged the man as he opened a portal to take him away. Black extended his bloodied sword, ready to take one more life, but he felt sluggish. When the puny god was within arm's reach, he glanced over his shoulders, his eyes squinting at Black until a blinding light enveloped the child's body, shrouding him in an endless void of white.

 **(...)**

Grey shot straight up in his seat on the ground, unaware when he had fallen asleep. Pyrrha was sitting over him. Her face had been stained with tears, and Grey felt the ruffling of his shirt and strain in his neck like she had been shaking him to try to wake him up, and when she went to speak, her voice died immediately so he knew she had been yelling for him. Jaune was next to her, his arm wrapped around her grimly, his own eyes filled with sadness. Grey realized he was still in the city right where he fought the hunter, and he could hear dozens of his classmates standing around him, observing the scene with no small sense of wonder. Grey couldn't care less. He stood up to walk over to a crowd that had formed in the center of the alley's square, their backs turned to him, and when they saw him, Nora and Ren tried to stand in his path worriedly. He didn't say anything. He pushed past them with a look of raw panic and determination that reminded them of nothing good.

He careened his way through the crowd, unintentionally knocking over a few innocent people. He needed to make sure. He needed to know if what happened was real or if this was all some kind of sick nightmare.

"There's nothing we can do," he heard someone say.

Pain. The people in the crowd had been blocking the energy, but once he made it to the front, he could feel Yang and Blake's heart's break. Not that he would have needed the ability to sense emotions to do so, watching Yang hold the corpse of her sister to her chest, screaming, crying, sobbing, and rocking back and forth in the weakest effort to comfort herself. Blake was curled on all fours, her face in the ground. Grey could hear her repeating "no, no, no" to herself over and over again as if that would help while the paramedics who tried to help begun to leave them be. The girls… Weiss and Ruby… Dead? This was wrong. This had to have been a dream.

This couldn't be real.

This couldn't be real.

This couldn't be real.

 **(A/N) So! Um… Don't kill me? Please?**

 **Post your theories in the reviews, start a flame war over good writing, or just PM about how much you want to throw me in the grimm spawning pits in Volume 4. Have a good month, Beautiful Hunters! I'm going to go hide in a bunker.**

 **On a different note: VOLUME 5 IS SO GOOD.**


	11. Shameless Fluff (An Apology)

**(A/N) Hey, guys. Unfortunately, due to some recent developments in my personal life and my slowly deteriorating mental state, the next update may be a few days late. May. On the bright side, I had this prepared because I knew something like this was bound to happen eventually, where something would prevent me from keeping my normal schedule, so to satiate you guys for a bit longer until I can get the main chapter out, I prepared this one shot as a kind of… cover. This short story will act as a temporary replacement for the next chapter until I can get it out. However, I want to remind you all that it's still pretty early in the month, and things can easily turn around enough for me to focus on chapter 2.6, upgrade the currently shoddy quality, and HOPEFULLY get it out on time. Either way, it won't be too late of an update.**

 **Thanks for understanding, my Beautiful Hunters, and don't worry. I promise I'm fine. This is only a temporary development and will be done and over with pretty soon.**

 **I really do need this time to make sure this next chapter is the best it can be since it is a major turning point in War of OA, and everything that's said or done within it will affect every other aspect of the story. If it's not how I want it, if it's not absolutely perfect, then the rest of the plot will be affected negatively and nothing will work out properly. Again, thanks for understanding. I promise the wait won't be too long, Beautiful Hunters.**

 **Enjoy!**

Fighting for a United Cause: A Tale of Shameless Fluff

It wasn't very often when Team RWBY could sit down and enjoy and get together peacefully, but Weiss had put so much effort into making Grey's birthday special that no one gave her any problems. Actually, contrary to the norm, their friends had even helped her plan, adding their own small touches.

Grey was sitting in a makeshift throne at the back of the dorm that Blake and Ren had made entirely out of their books, Nora's bath towel draped around his shoulders as a cape. Yang had even snagged a Sandwich Queen crown from the fast food restaurant and propped it up on his head. Ruby was currently chatting with Sun and Neptune after handing them a pair of toy katanas, a cheerful smile on her face that plastered a goofy grin on to Grey's, and even Weiss looked happy enough to crack a smirk. He hadn't expected anyone to put so much work into treating him like he mattered so much, or even how Yang knew that his birthday was on November 21st so she could tell Weiss about it, but if he was being honest, it made him happy. He didn't realize he wanted this until it happened. However, what really made him happy wasn't that everyone was showing him how much they cared about him, but that they were all smiling, laughing, and just generally having a good time all because his birth giver had shot him out of her baby cannon eighteen years ago.

He blushed furiously as Ruby gave him another kiss on the cheek and went to talk to Sun and Neptune who were chatting up Blake and Yang respectively. He tried to distract himself by focusing intently on Penny accidentally crash into Pyrrha who was awkwardly yet adorably flirting with Jaune. Not that he was complaining about it, but it wasn't a tradition he had heard of before. Kissing the birthday boy throughout the day as many times as he was old? He definitely enjoyed it if it was coming from Ruby, and maybe he could get the other three members of Team RWBY involved in it if he was lucky, particularly Weiss, but it seemed like something a girlfriend would do to her boyfriend. He pushed the unsettling thought down, his heart beating hard against his chest, but it gave him an idea. If Ruby was so set on kissing him another three times before he went to bed that night, then maybe he could trick her at least once into kissing him on the lips by turning his head at the last minute.

Neptune switched on the stereo and began playing a hard rock song from Set Apart and jumped into the middle of the dance floor where Yang was already shaking it. Sun grinned, and Grey caught the wink he shared with his teammate, seeing that Neptune was being a wingman breaking the ice, before holding his hand to Blake who graciously accepted it. Grey narrowed his eyes cleverly at their wit. From the raised seat he was in, he could see everything in the room, every single twitch, every single quirk and idiosyncrasy. Grinning, he propped his head on his fist and watched Yang dance as she casted the occasional jealous glance to her partner. Of course, Blake caught them and turned her back to Sun, grinding against him. A competition? No, judging by the way Yang turned away from Blake and wrapped her arms around Neptune, her body pressing against his dangerously close, he figured there was something more there. Then, he saw something else that grabbed his attention.

Weiss had her back turned to him but was just within arm's reach as she checked her scroll, making sure everything was going was running smoothly with the caterers in the kitchen. Frantically, Grey slapped his hand in her general direction, not taking his eyes off of the pair he was looking at. Unfortunately, he hadn't been too aware of where he was smacking, and received a quick slap across the face, but she quickly apologized to him when she realized he wasn't intentionally trying to cop a feel.

"What do you want, moron?" she asked harshly, sitting on the arm rest next to him, leaning against his shoulder with her arm draped lightly against him.

"Look," he whispered loud enough to be heard over the music but quiet enough to not be heard by anyone else, "Do you see it? What she just did?" Weiss gasped when she saw what he was pointing out.

"Is that… is that Pyrrha dancing with Jaune?" she bellowed incredulously.

"I know right?! Finally!" Grey kicked his feet and squealed happily like a schoolgirl, making Weiss giggle embarrassedly, but he stopped as quickly as he started, his face going slack, "Hey, he's actually pretty good." Grey mentally took notes, watching him expertly move his feet as if he were mixing a jazz square with salsa.

"Oh, yeah, he really is. Who knew?" Weiss agreed. A chill went up her spine when she felt eyes on her, and looked down at Grey, a blush creeping along her cheeks at the lascivious way he was smirking at her.

"Hey," he said smoothly, "How about a kiss for the birthday boy? You're not going to let Ruby have all the fun, are you?" Grey had been serious, and he was praying that she would have taken the bait, but it looked like he had been a bit too forward with her, seeing her face grow even redder than before, her mouth gaping in shock. Her eyes glazed over in panic. It even looked like her hip length ivory hair had stood straight, sparks flying off of her body in fear at the overly direct advance.

"Hey! Does it seem like the caterers are taking too long? I feel like they're taking too long. Are you hungry? I'm hungry. I'm going to check on them!" she rambled violently before stepping out of the room.

"Dude," Ruby said next to him with a cheeky smile, making Grey jump, "You know you can't be that direct with her. You have to be subtle with her and flank her weak points to get what you want from her." Grey laughed at how confident she was coming off.

"Is that how you got her to wear that 'Ruby's Bestie' shirt?" he teased.

"Actually, yes! But instead of coming onto her like you, I used subliminal messaging and the power of suggestion while she was sleeping. Did the same thing to Yang so she gives me money whenever I ask." Ruby said that so casually, not missing a single step in her explanation, that Grey immediately tucked his tail between his legs, unable to find any falsehood in her story.

"You… you scare me, you know that?" he cowered. She nodded and leaned in one more time to add one more number to her new tradition.

"If that's the case, I think you owe me another kiss," she said playfully. Grey's breath caught in his throat, his heart stopping for just the briefest second as he turned his head without giving himself any time to reconsider his actions. When her lips hit his, she froze, blinking. She didn't move for one second, two, three, then jumped away from him, gasping dramatically. She slapped his shoulder a few times, shouting profanities at him. Grey just sat there laughing in accomplishment, having no shame as he took cover from her tirade, and making sure it was abundantly clear to her that he had no regrets.

"Hey, everyone!" Weiss said, running back into the room like a hurricane and clapping her hands for everyone's attention. Neptune and Sun, who had been kicked off the dance floor, turned off the music for the woman, grateful to have an excuse to separate Blake and Yang who had left them for each other, everyone gathering around the door. Weiss smiled confidently. Standing on a group of twelve packs by the door, she spread her hands and theatrically began giving a clearly rehearsed speech. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the spawning of our favorite leech of a roommate! The fly on the wall who sneaks into our rooms in the middle of the night to interrupt us masturbating, or in Ren and Nora's case, pretending not to see that they're stealing each other's underwear."

"This took a turn I wasn't expecting," Pyrrha guffawed as everyone around her broke down, even Grey cackling madly at his roast.

"Ah, yes! How could anyone forget him? His silly antics of accidentally walking in on Yang when she's changing, or sneaking pics of Blake's lusty face as she reads smut literature? How could any of us live without him constantly stealing bites of our food when he thinks we're not looking or his gift of being too lazy to cover up his exams so we can cheat off of him? And let's not forget how he graces the bathroom! The way the dorms have to be evacuated for radiation poisoning every night we have tacos? It gave me the perfect excuse to get the nose job you all know I had three weeks ago."

"I knew it!" Nora shouted, Weiss scoffing at the tease but not missing a beat.

"I can't remember a time when I wasn't constantly being reminded that I'm not the prissiest one in the room when I see him disembowel his closet looking for just the perfect outfit. Do you know how many times he checks himself out in the mirror? Sure, I've met certain portly professors we all know and love that are less self absorbed than he is, but can you really blame Grey for obsessing over his appearance? If I had eyebrows that thick, I would pluck them four times a day, too!" Weiss grinned as she saw everyone, especially Grey, doubling over in laughter, Sun even rolling on the floor and Ruby crying into her hood out of humor. Then, she slowed it down. "But, really. Let's be serious for a second. What would we do without him? During the entrance exam, he saved each and everyone of our lives, and continues to do it every day. Yang wouldn't be passing Oobleck's class without him-"

"That's true," Yang admitted.

"-Jaune wouldn't have found his semblance after Pyrrha awakened his aura-"

"I'm still not sure how it works," Jaune confessed.

"And I…" Weiss faltered for a second, blinking as she realized just what she was about to say, and freezing up. She had written this part in, dedicated to saying it, but when she actually came to that bridge, she found it a bit difficult to cross it. Opening up like this was difficult to her. Regrettably she knew that after beginning the statement, she couldn't stop anymore. Nervously, she swallowed her pride, knowing there was no turning back. "And I wouldn't have met my best… my best friend without him."

Everyone went silent for a second. It didn't take long for them to figure out who she was talking about, and they all turned to Ruby who was tearing up pathetically, blubbering as she stood up from Grey's lap and ran over to the princess with her arms out. Weiss squeaked at the weight of the girl as she crashed into her.

"Oh, my god! I love you too Weiss! You're my best friend!" Ruby sobbed hideously. Weiss glanced up at everyone uncomfortably, each of them looking at her with love in their eyes at the pair, Pyrrha even wiping a tear. Stiffly, Weiss patted Ruby's shoulders.

"OK, that's enough," Weiss muttered, "I have to introduce the food now."

"Oh, heck yeah!" Sun shouted, "What is it?! Some kind of fancy stuff that rich people eat? Is it roast duck?! Please tell me it's roast duck!"

"Nope!" Weiss said with an evil grin, her eyes leveling on Grey's as the caterers pushed in a few carts with steaming hot dishes, "It's six cheese macaroni with shell pasta and andouille sausage cut up inside of it." Grey didn't even hesitate to run across the room and pick up Weiss in a bear hug.

"Macaroni and cheese and hot dogs?!" he shrieked, "I love you!"

"W-what?!" Ruby and Weiss squeaked simultaneously.

"What? Um… noth-nothing," he stammered, "Just hand it over!"

The group gathered around a collapsable table that had been set up by the staff in the center of the dorm. Sneakily, a few members of the group eyeballed everyone in the room, thinking fondly how everyone seemed to have set themselves next to their crush, lacking all self awareness that they had done the same. Blake sat in between Yang and Sun and was shifting her attention in between them. Neptune had the misfortune of trying to get Yang's attention while she was doing the same to annoy her and her crush on the monkey faunus next to her, the lack of focus on him alone a blatant message that he was out of his league. On the other side of the table, Team JNPR was having the same party. Nora was aggressively flirting with Ren who would mostly ignored her until he found just the right phrase to catch her off guard and have her face burn hot as she quietly buried her face in her food. Jaune and Pyrrha were sitting just next to them, oblivious to everyone as they lovingly stared in each other's eyes.

As the clique devoured the dishes that were so good they saw the face of God for a second and sung happy birthday to Grey, Ruby and Weiss took their places at Grey's side all three of them looking happier than they ever had before. Ruby was sitting in Grey's lap again, smiling widely and laughing like a maniac. While giving Grey his last few kisses, she and Weiss bantered with each other, both of them behaving kindly with one another for once, Weiss even giving Ruby the grace of a reserved chuckle at her off color jokes. As for Grey, he wanted to continue being ignored by them as much as possible so he could simply enjoy the gorgeous view. On his eighteenth birthday, Weiss and Ruby becoming friends was the best thing he could have possibly hoped for, watching them with a tender smile on his lips. As time slowly passed, as the day began to wind down and the energetic celebration made way for a relaxed siesta, everyone curling into the side of their chosen partners, Grey silently wondered if anyone else in the room had caught him, Ruby and Weiss holding each other's hands under the table.

 **(A/N) I think it's safe to say that this is more or less canon. Technically, it's not supposed to be, but considering this one-shot is entirely inconsequential to the main storyline, there's no reason to consider it non-canon.**

 **Do with this what you will, Beautiful Hunters. I promise the extra wait for chapter 2.6 won't be too long. Oh! And as a side note, Act 2 will be 8 chapters long, meaning we have another 3 to go before we get to Act 3!**

 **Lastly, to address a guest's review I forgot about in the last update (I'M SORRYYYYYYYY), yes. Grey is going to get a huge power up very soon, as well as some major character development. Unfortunately, next chapter is going to be entirely plot for obvious reasons, so the power up and character development won't come until just a bit later. Soon, but not in the next update.**

 **Have a good two to three weeks, Beautiful Hunters!**


	12. Act 2, Chapter 6

**(A/N) Thanks for waiting a few extra days, my Beautiful Hunters! I can't tell you how much I appreciate how patient you guys were with me. Thankfully, everything is back on track now, and I doubt the holidays will get in the way (knock on wood), so the next chapter should be up at it's usual time on the first, although possibly the second since that's New Year's Day.**

 **Now, onto something very important, I started this series knowing that Volume 5 and potentially Volume 6 were eventually going to screw with the plot and lore of War of OA eventually, and with episode 7 that popped up on Youtube, I can honestly say that the plotline of my story has now, officially, been affected. That said, this is not a bad change. In fact, because of the reveals in the main series, the story has definitely been improved. Keep in mind that this chapter won't reveal much to that end, though.**

 **Also, last thing, I know I promised Grey a huge power up, and that's still coming, but I took it out of this chapter and put the reveal into the next one since it would make more sense there.**

 **Thanks again for waiting, guys! I know you'll enjoy this, especially considering the plot relevance I've kept from you for so long.**

 **Act 2**

Chapter 6

 _Dear Rouge Ryokellia,_

 _I can't feel anything. Once, I was a shell of a man, a husk void of anything called "love" or "friendship." I found that in my beloved teammates. Yang with her crass seduction, Blake with her judicious drive, and Team JNPR across the hall where our dearest cousin Pyrrha rests her head alongside her own company, the clutz Jaune Arc, the graceful Lie Ren, and the bubbly Nora Valkyrie. They were all fine. Just fine. Really, they all had the same effect on me as Pyrrha and Bloom did growing up- I felt loyalty and trust within them, but they would never be able to break down my walls. There's a good reason I've kept that up for so long. After your death, I couldn't allow myself to open up again._

 _Then, Ruby and Weiss came along. Remember them? I've mentioned them once or twice. Well, I figured out what those feelings I had been struggling with were. It was love. True, romantic, boundless love. Could you imagine how Grandpa would react to that? Me? Actually falling in love with someone? He's joked about it for years, always casting sarcastic glances at me every time I would check out an attractive customer, but if I ever admitted to him that I found someone, I think that would be the shock that would finally do him in._

 _It's funny, though. If you asked me how and why Weiss and Ruby managed to sneak their way into my hearts, or even just how they became my friends in the first place, I wouldn't be able to tell you. Loyalty and trust are easy to come by with me, but I honestly have no idea how they earned my friendship and affection. Maybe it had something to do with living in the same room as them for months, or being on the same team, going to the same classes, eating the same meals, or just how much work I put into them in order to make them at least somewhat like each other, but I really have no idea._

 _By all rights, it shouldn't have happened. Do you believe in soul mates? Or divine intervention? Because those are the only two options that really make sense to me._

 _In any case, they're dead now. I used to be able to feel love and happiness because of them, but now, that husk I used to be turned into a black hole. The girls made my heart grow three sizes, but their deaths made it shrink 6 to create a void that destroys anything that approaches it. Even Black Steele is silent. Admittedly, that isn't the worst thing in the world._

 _I… Miss them. I don't know what I'm going to do without them. They were the only ones who have been able to affect me in the same way you did before you died, and I barely managed to survive without you. I don't think I can do this. Not yet._

 _I love you, Big Sis. See you later._

Grey sighed and put down his phone, rubbing his eyes after staring at it for so long, updating his journal to Rouge, his and Bloom's older sister. It took him a few minutes to come back to reality. Slowly, the sounds and smells of the cafeteria to hit him, and he looked at each of the members of Team JNPR, feeling their eyes on them when he looked up, but only Pyrrha was willing to make complete eye contact with him. The others looked at their meals anxiously.

"Finishing up homework?" she asked him, biting into her baguette after scooping up some gravy with it. A week had passed after the battle, so after finally getting the city of Vale close enough back to functioning under its normal pretenses, the students and authorities were finally able to sit down and share a meal- one that was actually tasty and satisfying, and not just a quick, tasteless meal pack.

"Another letter to Rouge," he explained flatly, "Had to let her know." Pyrrha nodded solemnly, trying to keep her already puffy eyes from tearing up again.

"Who's Rouge?" Jaune asked carefully. Grey looked at him dryly but relented the information in good faith.

"Older sister. Died with my parents. Don't want to talk about it." Grey's tone was tight and flat, so Jaune took the message and returned to his food. The group returned to silence once more but perked up when they heard Grey's scroll vibrate and saw the huntsman glance at it.

 _You OK?_ Grey read the message from Bloom. He grimaced and swiftly typed back.

 _No. I love you, but leave me alone_. Bloom sent back a sad face and a gif of a man jumping through a window, but he figured that meant she was going to ignore him for a bit.

"I miss them," Nora whimpered quietly, a stoic Ren wrapping an arm around her shaking shoulders as she buried her face in her hands, "I can't believe they're gone."

"Stop talking about it," Grey snapped. Nora looked up, clearly hurt, and the other three glared at him which he pointedly ignored.

"Grey," Jaune said soothingly, "She needs to-"

"I know," Grey interrupted with a snarl, "Just- just not now."

 _I'm here if you need to stop by and talk._ Grey read the message from his Grandpa, his sneer growing into a scowl as his fingers violently crashed against the buttons of his scroll.

 _Leave. Me. Alone._ He replied.

"How are Yang and Blake doing?" Pyrrha interjected, hoping to change the subject, shooting a very quick look of sympathy to Jaune.

"Last I saw, Yang was curled up with Ruby's hood, and Blake was hiding under the bed like she normally does when she's upset," Grey said after an irritated huff, "I didn't want to interrupt them. They'll come out when they're ready."

"Grey," Pyrrha said, trying to comfort him with a gentle grip on his wrist, "I hope you know I love you, OK? I'll always be here for you."

Grey snapped. He twisted his hand out of her grip and held her throat tightly with the same hand across the table, her own hands grabbing at his. She didn't break eye contact with him. She wasn't scared, or angry, or looking to defend herself, but instead was sending him a silent message. Jaune translated by wrapping his fingers around Grey's arm. He shook his head. Slowly, Grey released his grip.

"Sorry," he said curtly and sat back down, blinking the sting out of his eyes. Pyrrha smiled painfully, rubbing her neck as she tried to catch her breath again, putting her free hand on Jaune's thigh to keep the farm boy from saying something that he would regret. Fortunately, it didn't look like he would need to. Grey was already starting to walking away, his hands in his pockets. However, while at first she was relieved that the tough part was over, Pyrrha regretted not stopping her cousin when she saw that he wasn't walking back to the dorms like she thought.

"Ow! Stop! That hurts!" a twangy drawl from the other side of the cafeteria screamed. Turning around, Team JNPR saw Cardin and the rest of Team CRDL pulling on Velvet's ears, something that with the length they had to them could cause some really serious damage. Her eyes going wide, Pyrrha's breath caught in her throat when she saw Grey close the distance. Dashing forward on his boots, he made Cardin scream bloody murder after he broke the bully's wrist, pushing through his defensive aura like it was butter and snapping the bone in two. From there, Grey picked the boy up by his face. With one swift motion, he broke the entire line of tables down the cafeteria by slamming the bully's head into the wood. Grey looked up at the other three tiredly.

"Anyone else have something to say?" He asked, apathetically raising an eyebrow. The other members of Team CRDL fled in a hasty retreat, spinning around and stumbling over one another as they ran out of the room, leaving Grey to deal with their leader who was weakly trying to flip him by his ankle. Grey figured the action was involuntary, since the brute clearly wasn't conscious. Grey picked the guy up by the mantle of his armor, and wearing a bored expression as he lifted the guy off the ground, pulled a hand back. A mass of dark energy formed in his palm, ready to fire. Did they really think they could intimidate his best friend and get away with it?

"Grey stop!" he heard Velvet scream. He heard her voice bounce around his skull and glanced down at her with an almost predatory look, looking like he was about to treat her the same way Cardin did. He didn't even realize it. Dropping the still passed out bully, blood covering the front of his plate mail, he turned to her.

"Why?" he asked harshly, but genuinely, "He hurt you. He deserves to be hurt."

"Grey," said Pyrrha from behind him in a dark, trite tone, her hand on his shoulder. He turned, mentally shrinking under her deadly gaze, but unwilling to show it, their family resemblance blazing across the cafeteria like a pair of sleep deprived dragons. Grey wasn't the toughest guy in school, but right now, with his lack of any inhibitions or compassion, with mercy being the farthest thing from his mind, it was like an unstoppable force was about to meet an immovable object. It wasn't a question who would break first. The only thing on the audience's mind was who would throw the first punch.

 _Look around you, Grey. Your friends hate you._ Grey winced, hearing that voice in his head. It was his own, clearly, but in his addled state, he didn't expect any amount of logic or reason to appear. He glanced over Pyrrha's shoulders. Ren looked afraid, Jaune concerned, but Nora? Nora looked heartbroken. Behind him, he saw that Team CFVY had decided to join in, not questioning anything, but seeing the danger and not hesitating to block Velvet from him. He glanced back up at Pyrrha, who was looking at him expectantly. He shrugged her hand off of him, and walked away, no one calling after him, and not looking back himself.

He didn't want to be alone. If he didn't have anyone next to him as he was, then he would do something incredibly stupid. Right now, he needed company. Actually, he needed a specific kind of company, but that wasn't available to him anymore, so instead, he speedily walked out of the school. He ran his hands through his hair tightly, choking up slightly and trying to hold back any emotion from breaking free from him.

"I just don't see the point to this anymore," he said to no one in particular, pulling out his scroll and watching the picture of himself, Ruby, and Weiss intently. He had his arms wrapped around both of them, grinning like a maniac with a peace sign held up while Ruby cackled, and Weiss blushed with her face turned away from the camera, trying to hide her pleased attitude. "I know how it must sound to you guys, giving up everything just because I lost what made me happy, but… I guess you don't really know what you had until it's gone. Even worse, once you've become used to a good thing, it becomes… difficult to live without. I don't really see myself ever being happy again without you. You guys were a gift of God to me, by it's like some cruel plot twist that you needed to die for me to figure out how I felt about you. I'm not going to hurt myself, so don't worry," he said with a somber chuckle, "But at this point, I don't care enough to make sure I'm OK. Reckless? Is that what you would call it?"

Running his hands over his face, he sobbed quietly. He just wanted to wake up in his bed and hope that this was some kind of poison induced fever dream.

"Gorgeous, aren't they?" Grey froze at the hollow voice behind him, turning sharply. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, his mouth dropping open in surprise, stumbling back into one of the stone pillars holding up the arches at the school's entrance. It was the hunter, alive and well, staring down at him with the eyes of a viper. Literal, physical, King Taijutsu eyes.

"I'm… pretty sure I killed you," Grey said curiously. The hunter stared back at him, rubbing his demon mask thoughtfully.

"You did," he admitted, "But obviously not for long. I just came to deliver a message." Grey straightened up, his eyes furrowing in anger.

"And what would that be- urk!" Grey doubled over when the hunter shot a jab to his but, knocking the wind out of him, then grabbing his shoulders, and whispering in his ear.

"Killing those two was the most orgasmic pleasure I've ever had," he hissed, "They were the weakest children I've ever fought, and deserved every bit of pain that came to them."

Grey's eyes turned crimson red as his breath returned, but the hunter had already separated from him, running down the courtyard and up the school's walls. Grey lost sight of him before he could recover enough to chase after the murderer, but it didn't seem to matter. As if guided by hatred, Grey could feel the his target's presence calling out to him, pulling him in a single direction, and the amateur huntsman didn't hesitate to follow that urge.

 _Do not hesitate to kill him, no matter how many tries it takes to make it permanent._ Grey's panic faltered for a second as that voice came back to him, but he ignored it, following the basic "one problem at a time" mentality.

Using both his shields and boots to propel himself, Grey jumped to the top of the academy's ten story roof, seeing the hunter waiting for him with his arms crossed against a backdrop of open air. A caustic energy burned off of him that showed Grey just how much fun he was having. He even gave a rude gesture saying "are you even trying" before stepping back, arms spread wide, and falling off the edge of the school. Grey dashed over to the cliff. With just a small amount of reluctance, a brief hesitation, he answered that pull he was feeling one more time and jumped off after him. Thanks to his landing strategy, he hit the floor of the Emerald Forest lightly, and from there, he sprinted after the hunter again.

After a few brief minutes of the chase, the dirt road began to fade, the forest growing thicker until he could no longer run, the leaves blackening like soot and the trunks laced with red veins as if blood was coursing through their trunks. Even the sky took on a more gothic feel, the blue turning a depressing gold. It was in this nightmare realm where he found the hunter. The man was resting outside of a small cottage on the top of a hill, the building built into the side of a rock face, and the hunter himself sitting with his legs crossed on a wicker rocking chair, strumming a guitar. With a sharp twang, he looked up at Grey.

"About time you joined me," he said deeply, "For a second, I thought you had given up." Grey wasn't putting up with this. He wanted some answers, and no matter how many times he would have to kill him, Grey would learn everything. He stomped over, grabbed the assassin's shirt collar, and pulled him close.

"What are you?" Grey snarled, "Explain, now!" Grey nearly shivered at the sadistic grin he could feel under that creepy mask.

"Easy, child. I'm not here to fight you," the hunter admitted, jumping off his perch, "I'd love to beat you at one point, but I called you out here for a conversation. Not a murder." Grey lowered his hands for a second, raising his eyebrow and unsure how to proceed, but threw his shields out as a surprise attack. The hunter scoffed and grabbed Grey's throat, throwing him against a tree.

Grey hacked breathlessly when his spine connected perpendicular to the trunk. He wasn't prepared for that kind of speed, nor the strength. He wasn't that powerful last time, was he? After hitting the dirt and his spine nearly snapping in half, Grey struggled to stand.

"Are you kidding me? I invited you to my home, wanted to talk with you, and I even made you tea," the hunter scoffed disdainfully, gesturing to the kettle by his chair, but before he turned back, Grey began shooting his fully automatic bullets from Albatross. Unfortunately, the hunter didn't even need to look to slash the bullets out of the air.

"I hate you! Why did you have to kill Ruby and Weiss?!" Grey dashed over to the hunter with his tears falling behind him, throwing a few punches, then using his semblance to glide around the demon and slam a kick to the hunter's head, all of which he dodged effortlessly, "What did they ever do to you?! I want answers!" Grey maneuvered around the hunter the same way he was turning, pivoted, then tried to back fist his opponent in the back of his head, but stopped harshly when the hunter managed to block it. All he did was throw his hand vertically behind him and catch Grey's fist. In his panicked state, Grey didn't back off. He couldn't. He ducked down and tried to wrap his hands around the murderer's legs, trying to get him off his feet, but this wasn't effective either. The attempted throw was reversed. Grey ended his assault by getting slammed onto the ground, a huge weight in his chest, being pressed down by a knee.

"You don't want answers, Grey, no matter how willing I am to provide them," the hunter insisted angrily, grabbing Grey's hair and pulling his head back to keep him down, "You just want my attention."

The hunter turned to mist and reappeared a few feet away walking back to his tea. Grey coughed a few times as he stood back up. He turned his head back to his enemy as the man lowered his mask, downed a cup of tea like a shot of tequila, then pulled his mask back up before cracking his neck. Grey got into his stance again but halted himself when he saw the hunter's bored expression.

"What? What?!" Grey demanded, his voice cracking, "Take this seriously!" The hunter sighed. He shook his head and turned back up at the poor boy.

"I can't," the hunter said, making Grey drop his guard as his chest grew tight, pacing around him with an accusing finger digging at him, "Not when you're trying to kill yourself like this. I don't want to see you like this. I can't stand to see someone like you, as powerful as you are, destroy himself as if he's nothing important. Are you really willing to give up? Don't answer that!" The hunter teleported over and backhanded Grey across the face before he could respond, then pacing around even faster like a tiger about to pounce. "I have answers for you, I do, but before you get them, I want to tell you something. You may have realized this yourself, growing up the way you did, but where I come from, my people and my family believe that you can tell everything about another warrior by how they fight and who they become when they try to kill you, and I can tell you right now that Weiss and Ruby- yes I learned their names because they were worthy adversaries -wouldn't want to see you like this."

"Don't you dare say their- urk!" Grey's command was interrupted again with a jab to his gut.

"Interrupt me again, fledgling, see what happens!" the impromptu teacher threatened, "They were warriors. They were goddesses and amazons like I had ever seen, and I can say that you spit on their memory like this!"

"What do you want from me?" Grey asked, coughing up blood. The hunter crouched next to him, his hands resting on his knees as his slit pupils tore into Grey's silver eyes.

"All I want to do is talk," the hunter answered calmly, "I can't allow great heroes like you and the girls to die without honoring their memory. Think you can humor me for five minutes?"

Grey glanced up at him silently. Even though the hunter's aura burned when he tried to sense it, Grey could still feel the emotion behind his terrifying presence. He wasn't lying. For one reason for another, through the misguided ideal of honor to one's enemies, the hunter was being genuine in his plea. In his heart, Grey knew that this would be his only chance to get the knowledge he wanted.

Pragmatically, though, he knew he wouldn't be able to beat the hunter in single combat. Choosing not to be an idiot and commit suicide by deul, the young huntsman reached his hand up to the killer of his best friends and shook it confidently. Frankly, despite the murderous urge still twisting in his stomach, Grey was excited to see how this would go.

 **(...)**

If even the most veteran hunters couldn't sense his presence, then either his ability to enter the invisible plane lying on top of the physical world was too powerful, or there was no hope for humanity. Glynda Goodwitch and that strange man Ozpin paced through their office as they organized their plan to restabilize the city, unaware of the monstrous figure strolling right past them. This was good. He had too much business to settle, and didn't want any annoyance like them getting in his way. Avoiding any distraction, ignoring the dozens of huntsmen that had taken residence in the hospital he had made his way to, the man hurried over to the back of the room and phased through the curtain blocking off the temporary morgue from the rest of the school's hospital.

What were the girls' names again? He already knew one of them was Ruby, the one with the silver eyes whom his hunter had killed. The other one was… A Schnee. All he could recognize her from was the familiar energy of her family, a corporation known for its evil deeds and the highest body count in all of Remnant's history. The spilled blood of the innocent was prevalent through her family's aura, the poor girl. It was fortunate that the administrators were waiting for the families of the girls to come pick up the bodies for their strange mortal funeral rituals since it created just enough time for his hunter to distract Grey, the darkness finally having settled into him at the end of the week. This was good.

He pulled up a chair in between the girls' beds, tying his nebula of red hair into a bun and began tracing his fingers over their bodies, reading them, gauging them through the aura flowing through their nervous system, unabated by the vulgarity of the situation. For thousands of years this battle has continued, and not once in his life had he met people like these two. Ruby was a bearer of the silver eyes, both a gift and a curse that she had the misfortune of being granted by forces beyond her control, yet unlike those that came before her, she was able to access the divine strength they possessed through training alone, if only in part. Most required a trigger that unlocked the power for them, acting as a key to the treasure.

The monster of a man bit the claw on his thumb thoughtfully. According to his hunter, Grey had some kind of unique property that was indirectly affecting Ruby's path to slowly reaching her true potential. The only question was how? What was it?

Looking over to the other girl, the Schnee, he advanced his examination. He traced the claw of one hand down her forehead, along the bridge of her nose, and centered it on her heart. Silently, he examined the bruised and battered aura that remained tied to her corpse, clairvoyantly seeing her past. She was there in the battle with his hunter. That much was interesting enough on its own, but even without the divine aid of the silver eyes, she was able to find someway to power up enough to defeat the hunter in single combat, if only temporarily due to his special… condition. That part caught his attention. Despite her failure, what was truly a wonder was the fact that she had sacrificed herself to perform that feat. It was rare humans were ever so generous. Last time he met someone so kind and wonderful, he gave her and her three sisters powers beyond their wildest dreams. Powers which were quickly taken advantage of by others.

Biting back the sad memory, he finished his remunerations of the Schnee's corpse and pulled a wisp of light from her chest, rolling it around his hand, letting it fly around his face, even brush against his cheek as if it were giving him a kiss. It didn't surprise him. That peculiar energy, the overtly affectionate behavior, was exactly what he was looking for, and the very reason he had stepped into the morgue in the first place. Trapping it in a bottle, he tucked it away comfortably in his sleeve.

Rubbing his chin, the monster began pacing around the room, casting the occasional glance at Ruby and her friend. So far, the god hadn't come to any kind of revelation as to why Ruby was so different among other bearers of this gift, able to access her powers naturally. Examining the ball of light, he growled at the familiar force. Love. Not only was that the emotion that still filled Ruby's unliving presence, but it essentially was 100% of the wisp's existence. Growling, he tried to swallow the disgusting emotion away, those horrid memories. If nothing else, love was a neurological con job and a product of corporate manipulation, and he could never understand how people could possibly be "happy" in a relationship built on such a flimsy precedent, and yet somehow, between both of these girls, and even with Grey himself, it seemed to be the one consistency.

No, that didn't make any sense. Ruby wasn't the first bearer of the silver eyes to fall in love, or to be loved by others. Summer Rose and Regina Schnee, ironically enough, the mothers of both of the girls in front of him, all had family that cared about them, a place to lay their head, and someone to hold them at night. However, not one of them had the same mastery over the gift that Ruby did.

"I've forgotten how humans work," the man decided, and reached into his other sleeve, pulling out a small white handbook with a golden latch over it and clearing his throat before he reading the contents aloud in his frilliest high school girl voice, smirking playfully, "Ruby is so annoying! Every time I try to get Grey alone, she's right there butting in where she doesn't belong! I've been trying to build up chemistry with him so I can finally confess my feelings for him, but if Ruby can't stop following him around like a lost puppy, then I'm never going to get anywhere! If I ever want to get the chance to take Scarlet's advice, then I need to find some way to get her to leave us alone."

The man furrowed his brow at the name. He had heard it a few times before, and Weiss talking to the one who held it didn't make him happy. Flipping ahead a few pages, he continued.

"Pyrrha and I were talking during lunch today," the monster continued in his normal voice, "She and I were both in line to get a salad, and she started getting really protective over Grey since she knows he and I are getting closer, playing that big sister role Winter always does for me. I can't really blame her for that, but it was super annoying. I know Pyrrha cares about Grey and all, but I think she was going a bit overboard. I'm not that horrid, am I?" he sighed, figuring this part was useless and flipped further.

"Ruby has been spending a lot of time with Grey lately," the man continued, raising his eyebrow curiously, thinking this one might be useful, "I loathe to admit it, but I got really jealous and started panicking so I followed them. I mistakenly thought they started dating and hadn't told the rest of the team, but while I'm glad I was wrong, that's besides the point. Sure, seeing her flirt with him pisses me off, but since I know she's not as big a threat as I previously thought, I've been watching them train together. I know I can't read auras like Ren or Grey, but even standing outside of the gym, I could feel Ruby's radiating off of her, like when I first met Black Steele in the Emerald Forest. I'm so glad they didn't see me, though. I could just imagine what Ruby would say if she caught me spying. She's a complete dunderhead in class, but she's not a total dunce, so she would easily use my stalkerish behavior to try to turn Grey away from me, but would that really work? Ruby may think that she's competing with me for Grey's affections, but that silly child doesn't realize we're not even playing the same game."

The interloper whistled at Weiss's diary thoughtfully. This was an interesting bit of drama he could quickly become addicted to, like bad reality TV.

Love, huh? And not just love, but jealousy? He really had forgotten how humans work. It sickened him to think that one of the most influential metaphysical powers in history, the silver eyes, and the rules that guide them could be overpowered by something that Flixar and Bisney movies were built upon, but he was fortunate to find out that that wasn't the end of it. Jealousy, as an emotion, is the fear that someone will take what you have, and with that anxiety comes an overwhelming desire to protect it. If Grey was really that important to them, then he could use that to his advantage.

Coming to examine the corpses was only one small step to achieve his final goal. Grey was the demon's true target. As a god, he had walked Remnant for thousands of years, but not once had he seen an average mortal be able to break the laws of nature with such ease. The girls, on the other hand, were more or less irrelevant to the overall issue, but it was clear to the man just how important they could be to that boy's development. If these two conflicting, polar opposite personalities were to somehow be put back into the mix… Grinning maliciously, the monster knew what he had to do.

Yes, it all made sense now. He knew the course of action he had to take if he wanted to figure anything out, and reaching into another fold in his robes, he pulled out a small, deep red crystal and rolled it in his fingers a few times, pulling out the bottle from earlier alongside it.

He paused for a second. Seeing the gemstone placed on the end table at Ruby's side, and the wisp of essence placed on Weiss's, he realized just what a mess this whole situation was. Why did the mortals have to get involved in this conflict? They were weak, and ultimately insignificant to the true fight that took place behind the curtain that guarded them from the eldritch truth that they should never be made aware of. This remembrance reminded the man of an emotion he hadn't felt in centuries- guilt.

"I don't take pride in killing you, Ruby, nor was I happy when I watched your friend sacrifice herself to avenge you in some misguided, life ending apology to you," the angel of death mused out of some kind of goal to justify his actions to the objects, "You and those like you, the people who have been deemed fit to hold the silver eyes, have to die. No matter how you choose to live your life, or what kind of people you choose to be, you are guilty of sins beyond your comprehension. For what it's worth, I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to live. Hell, if I didn't think you were more important to this than your brothers and sister, I wouldn't be doing this right now. I still probably shouldn't."

Sighing, he turned his attention to the Schnee.

"As for you…" he started, "You're just a victim of circumstance. If no one else, you're the one whom I regret the most having to get involved in this game of mine, but I'm afraid I can't let you give up playing it. You and Ruby… you're important in this somehow. I just don't know how yet. If nothing else, since you've gone against the natural human instinct of preservation and sacrificed yourself for those you care about, you've at least earned a second chance. I think you've earned some kind of reward, as well. After I'm done here, you'll know my name. Even if you don't know who I am or what I represent, you should take pride in that much. No other living mortal can say the same."

Taking a few deep breaths, the demon held his hands over the corpses of the girls. The room around them began to grow dark, even affecting the physical world outside of his alternate space and making the professors nearby panic as they assumed they were under attack again, which he promptly ignored. A sound boomed through the room. It was a creak like wood, loud enough to make anyone in the hospital who was conscious grab their ears in pain, but it was deep like the lowest of basses. If only they knew what was about to happen.

 **(...)**

Bursting through the crowd in the center of Vale, Grey rushed to the bus terminal, pushing over random passersby who couldn't comprehend the reason for his flight. All they could see was an armed maniac. He sprinted over the flight deck, crashing through the line. As Ozpin's apprentice, even as a student, he had an official huntsman's badge that would grant him priority access to resources such as public transportation, and knowing this, he didn't bother with trivialities such as "politeness." He needed to get back to Beacon Academy. Sadly, after the fight he had just been through, he was far too weak to use one of his shields to try to make it back to the floating school.

Whipping out his scroll, and ignoring the cries of the pissed off people behind him, he flashed his badge to the guards at the toll and was let on the shuttle immediately, taking a seat at the far back. The last words that the hunter parted on him were still ringing in his head.

"I'm just distracting you, numb nuts," the voice echoed, "The real prize are those girls. While you've been here having fun with me, my master has been up there with them just waiting for the moment to take them. Did you really think I cared about you?"

 _Don't be an idiot, Grey, think this through,_ came that voice from earlier in the back of his mind, now fully manifesting itself as another force beyond Grey's control.

"What am I supposed to do?!" the host shouted back, earning a few more confused and disconcerting stares, "They're in danger! I can't just sit here and wait for them to be taken from me! Not again."

 _And waiting for this thing to land is helping them? When they're surrounding by trained warriors on all sides who would gladly help you if you asked them? Think!_

Grey growled to himself. He didn't want to admit it, but the entity was right. Grey pulled out his scroll and pressed a specific speed dial.

"Hey-o!" came Nora's voice, followed by Grey's grumbling, "Pyrrha's busy right now, so I picked up her phone! What do you need, you bully slayer, you?" Grey relaxed slightly, a wry smirk cracking on his lips.

"I'm glad to hear you're not still mad at me, Valkyrie," he admitted, "And bully slayer? What's that about?"

"You've been the talk of the school since you beat up Cardin this morning! Everyone is in love with you and Jaune and Pyrrha have been beating off people with a stick since you're like their best friend and our classmates all want your autograph or something. I don't think it was that impressive, but they all seemed to like it. It's so hard to find someone who can truly appreciate good gore, you know? You could have borrowed my hammer to break his kneecaps if you really wanted to, by the way! Seriously, if you just asked me-"

"Nora," Grey interrupted, seething through gritted teeth as he tried to keep his voice level, "I love you, but I need you to put Pyrrha on the phone. Where is she?" Perhaps she heard the pleading in his voice, because Nora's tone dropped a bit seriously when she replied.

"We're all in the weight room," she revealed, "She's benching 240, but I'll get her up." Grey bit his lip, his breath hitching in his throat as she heard the hushed arguing on the other end.

"What do you want, Grey?" Pyrrha hissed.

 _Yep, she's pissed._ The voice told Grey who readily agreed.

"Look, I know you're still mad at me for this morning, but I need you to listen to me real quick," Grey tried.

"Mad? I'm not mad at you. What ever would give you that idea?" Pyrrha chided.

Maybe you should have called Velvet. Or Coco. Or tamed a grimm on the way here. Those seem like they would have been safer options for you.

"Pyrrha, please just listen!" Grey begged.

"Why should I?" Pyrrha shot even more coldly than before.

 **"You little brat, would you shut up already?!"** Grey growled with Black's voice, snarling so violently the whole shuttle shook mid air, making the pilot announce that they had hit a bit of turbulence. He could hear Pyrrha shudder on the other end of the line. He even blinked himself. Where did that come from?

"OK, what do you need?" she said, putting her fury aside.

"Go up to the morgue and check on Ruby and Weiss for me," Grey responded, "Someone is up there with them right now. He's…" Grey couldn't get the words out.

"I'm already on it," Pyrrha interrupted, "I'll call you when I know anything."

With that, the phone clicked off. Grey was satisfied knowing he could always count on his cousin to have his back when stuff hits the fan, no matter how mad at him she was, and let out a breath he had been holding in. Silently fuming, tapping his foot rapidly, he waited for the transport to touch down. When it did, he placed his hands in the pockets of his trench coat and walked down the courtyard casually, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible so no one would worry. The sun was beginning to set and classes still weren't in session, so at this time of day, everyone was out having a good time. It was surreal if nothing else. The way he walked along the path in a blind panic as everyone else had a smile on their faces, having a good time, and yet knowing how close things were to exploding in a mushroom cloud of rage and excitement.

Stepping through the front doors, he saw the usual sights from the past few days. Ozpin and Glynda were chatting right in the foyer of the building, reviewing dozens of documents on their pads about the rebuilding of the city, General Ironwood video chatting with another officer about Winter Schnee's condition. They waved to him, and he politely nodded, but hurried away.

Passing through the dorms on his way to the hospital, he passed by Coco who was talking with Yatsuhashi about Cardin's condition, and when they both saw Grey walking by them, they nodded respectfully as thanks for what he did for Velvet, but choosing not to say anything about it. It was like they were telling him, "we don't approve of your methods, but you got results." It wasn't until he got to the commons area where all of the students from each school could socialize with each other that he heard something interesting while passing by that creepy team from Haven. What were their names? They hadn't really made that much of an impact on him since he had arrived, but he at least knew their leader's name was Cinder. The woman gave him the chills, but when Grey heard her male teammate say something about an emergency in the hospital, Grey's panic got the best of him and he ended up forgetting his need for secrecy, and began sprinting through the halls. He actually blacked out for a second. He only woke up once he felt Pyrrha slap him across the face as hard as she could without dislocating his jaw.

"Are you sure you wanna go in there?" she asked him, watching him rub the mark on his face lightly. Silently, he took a very deep breath and closed his eyes, pushing the curtain aside and stepping into the morgue.

"Grey?" someone said in front of him. A shot of tension shot down Grey's lumbar and the back of his neck, cementing him in place.

"If I open my eyes…" he said threateningly, "Promise me that this won't be a dream."

He didn't get an answer. He stubbornly waited in place, the brief time feeling like an eternity as he watched out of the corner of his eyes two pairs of feet stepped over to him, both covered in the slip resistant socks that hospitals give out. Their sterile gowns hung below their knees with tubes and cords hooked up to the consistently beeping machines trailing behind them.

"Don't be such a pansy, you dolt," a second voice said demandingly. Both of the voices belonged to the two girls standing above him, the first one that called his name finding home in the bubbly younger combat addict, and the second to the cold and commanding corporate heiress. As much he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to look at them. He didn't want to risk looking into their eyes, only to see the life fade away from them again, but they didn't give him a choice. Ever so lightly, they placed their hands on his cheeks, one gentle and calloused, and the other smooth yet firm, lifting his face up until his teary gaze leveled on their own smiling faces.

"Guys… I…" he tried to bring himself to speak but couldn't, his face contorting into a joyful sadness as tears began to fall down his face. He couldn't bring himself to say how much he missed them- the words just wouldn't come out. Instead, he cleared his throat decided to take a slightly different route, his face growing distant and scolding. "Weiss, Ruby. You guys are in so much trouble. I've been spending the past week worrying about you after the battle, and now you just return as if nothing happened? Well, let me tell you both that a lot of drama did happen! I'll have you know that Professor Port actually started wearing kilts to class to show us all how real warriors dress. Do you realize how lucky you are that you got to miss that? The loving smiles on their cheeks never left their faces as the girls pulled Grey into a tight hug, Ruby nuzzling into the crook of his neck, and Weiss dropping her head against his other shoulder.

"Yeah… We missed you, too," Ruby said for both of them.

"Is it really you?" Grey asked, his arms wrapped tightly around them as if afraid to let them go, and unable to speak above a whisper lest a sob escape him.

"If you seriously don't think we're real, than there is no hope for you," Weiss teased, laughing at his expense as she pulled away from the hug, a blush colored her cheeks as her lips parted, her eyes looking into Grey's wantingly, "But I think I know one way to convince you."

Grey's lips split apart slightly as Weiss laced her arms into his jacket and began moving closer to him, her eyes closing. He could feel her warm breath brush against his face, his heart pounding heavily, and as his pulse hit his ears with every beat, his eyes beginning to shut on their own, instinctively, his hands found their way to Weiss's hips, pulling her in, but before they could connect, he felt the princess get torn from his grasp. Ruby pushed her out of the way and stole Weiss's moment, kissing Grey in her place. Grey blinked, stunned out of his mind.

"Dang it, Ruby!" Weiss shouted, stomping her foot, "That was my kiss!" Ruby turned and winked at her teammate.

"You snooze, you lose, Wei-Wei," she teased, starting yet another catty argument. Grey shook his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing tersely, his shoulders shaking with laughter as the grief from the past week faded from his mind and body, weighing him down when he felt the adrenaline and tension drop off of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Yang, Blake, and Nora sprinting into the room, crying hideously. Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune followed in after them, watching with some amusement.

"You know, Yang," Grey joked, changing the subject as she choked her sister in a vice like hug, "You are a really ugly crier- AGH!" Before he could finish that statement, the pugilist used a shotgun shell to blast him against the wall. Ruby and Weiss paused their argument to turn to the bigger issue, who clearly wasn't taking them seriously as she proudly smirked and shrugged her shoulders. Digging himself from the crater in the wall, Grey smiled for the first time since the battle earlier in the week. It was pretty clear to him now that this wasn't a dream, or even some kind of very specific hallucination. Things were really back to normal.

Over the years, Grey had learned not to question good things, and even if he could find some kind of answer as to how the dead had risen, he was more than positive that he didn't want to find it. Ozpin and Glynda stormed in a few minutes later with an angry look and dozens of questions. Ironwood came in not a second afterwards with Winter running in and tackling her little sister just as Yang had done with Ruby, and seeing how happy everyone was, the positive effect this crime against nature had on everyone, Grey resolved his things like this should clearly never be questioned.

 **(A/N) As always, like, review, follow, favorite, and post your theories in the comments! Next chapter will be up in a month as always.**


	13. Act 2, Chapter 7

**(A/N) So! I know I said this chapter would be up at the first, but since my finals are over and I had a few days off from work, I got a little excited. Prepare for lore and shameless fluff!**

 **On another note, this is the second to final chapter of Act 2. Admittedly, it didn't work out how I planned, but I promise you this ended up so much better than I had originally planned out, with essentially the same plot still taking place. I'd like to think it worked out pretty well. Actually, I'm pretty proud of it. To be perfectly honest, though, this chapter does somewhat feel like more of a finale for me than the next one will be. In terms of the action-y, Silver Eyes plot line, this one will definitely round things out a bit more than the next one will be, but the whole thing with Weiss, Grey, and Ruby will be have more attention in Chapter 2.8.**

 **Either way, I want to point out one more time that I see no point in taking a few months off after this Act finishes up. Once Chapter 2.8 is up some time in January, Chapter 3.1 will follow the same schedule as always since taking a break will admittedly feel like screwing you guys over, and I don't want to do that.**

 **That said, welcome back to the jungle, Beautiful Hunters!**

 **Act 2**

Chapter 7

 _I don't trust them,_ the disembodied voice said to Grey. Glancing up from his note taking in Glynda's arena tutorial for the Vytal Festival Tournament, jotting down who might be an issue, he looked over to where the voice was urging him.

 _I think it's a pretty decent assumption not to trust anyone from Mistral,_ Grey telepathically shot back to him, _You can read my memories. I don't even need to tell you the kind of stuff Rouge, Bloom and I had to go through back in the day._ Biting the end of his pen, he glanced sidelong over to where Cinder Fall and her two teammates were sitting, mentally appreciating the naturally seductive appeal she possessed. That cold gaze, dominating smile, the casually sultry way she swayed her hips, all of which caught the eye of every guy and half of the girls in each Academy, making Grey believe that all she had to do to have someone was point to them and say "you."

 _Oh, don't even pretend you don't see it!_ The voice spat harshly. Grey smirked darkly, turning his attention back to the arena. After Pyrrha had demolished all of Team CRDL, she decided to accept the challenge Mercury threw at her, and watched nervously as the man went toe to toe with his cousin. He was good. Silently, Grey prayed to every god he could think of that he wouldn't have to fight either of them in the tournament. Or ever, for that matter.

 _Don't worry, I see what you're getting at,_ Grey reminded the voice. Even if they weren't from Mistral, being around that team set Grey on edge. The fourth member of Team Cinnamon- CMEN, but the actual acronym was spelled weird -was still a mystery, but the others? They weren't only dangerous, but unnervingly cunning. Unsettlingly, their auras said something even worse, and despite Emerald's and Mercury's reliance on Cinder, not to mention the former's hidden feelings for her leader that anyone paying attention was able to pick up on, it made Grey think that all three of them were worse than just elite criminals. They seemed evil. Granted, Mercury was more or less just blind muscle, but he wouldn't have put it past Emerald to literally steal candy from babies, and Cinder? The only reason Grey had never once approached her is because she scared him.

Grey easily suspected them as the people Ozpin and his crew were looking for, the ones trying to undo the peace of the world to reestablish their own, but they hadn't left any discernible trail for him to pick up on. Even if they were traitors to the kingdoms, Grey would never be able to prove it.

Grey tensed, being forcefully yanked out of his schizophrenic dialogue when he felt a hand fall on his own.

"You're not paying attention, Grey," Weiss scolded him lightly when he turned to her worried face, "Is something on your mind?"

"No, something's on my hand," he joked, smiling coyly, making Weiss roll her eyes. The heiress turned back to the last few minutes of the fight, but didn't take her fingers away from their throne until Grey shook them off. It wasn't that he minded, but with Ruby at his other side looking at them with a slightly homicidal twitch, it seemed dangerous to allow that to continue.

As the fight concluded, Grey thought to himself how easily Weiss was able to pick up on his inner monologue. It was sweet, really. A bit unsettling, sure, but she clearly cared about him if she could notice the subtle way his features changed with his thoughts, and judging by the silent hip bump Ruby gave him after he returned to his existential dialogue, the younger girl shared exactly the same quality. Was it weird that it made Grey uncomfortable? Feeling like he was cared for? The thought was so intriguing to him that he didn't even notice the fight in front of him end until Glynda was scolding Mercury for forfeiting. Grey furrowed his brow. Mercury was nearly equal to Pyrrha in ability and could probably beat her with a copious amount of luck. Why did he so easily give up?

Grey put the thought aside. Even though he was undeniably suspicious of Team CMEN, particularly of their missing fourth member, he had bigger issues he had to worry about at the moment. He had a trick up his sleeve he wanted to try. Rather, he wanted to reveal the skill the hunter helped him perfect. Rolling his shoulders, Grey got up and jumped into the arena.

"Guess I'm next," Grey proclaimed.

"Glad to see you're participating again," Glynda said proudly, but as she looked at him over her glasses, Grey could see the suspicious glint in her eyes. Grey tried to ignore it, sweat piling on his forehead.

"I want to fight you," Grey said, pointing into the crowd.

"Wait… me?" Ruby asked nervously, pointing to her chest. Grey grinned mischievously, then continued.

"And you, and you, and you." Grey pointed to Weiss, Blake, and then Yang in turn, creating a cacophony of sniggering and anxious murmuring in the crowd. There was no way Grey could be serious. He had a record of 4 and 9 with Yang alone. It made the half of the crowd that thought this was a joke believe he had a death wish, and the other, smarter half could tell that something wasn't quite right about this situation. Team RWBY had some of the best huntsmen in the Academy. The online betting pools for the tournament had even placed some of the best odds in their favor to take home the gold. If the four of them were fighting together, most of their classmates and professors agreed that they were unstoppable, yet Grey held no small amount of confidence as he called them out. The situation was too peculiar to be taken at face value. What was he planning?

Strangely enough, Glynda allowed it and a few minutes later, Grey was surrounded on all sides by the four members of his team. His hands hung at his sides, his fists balled tightly.

"I need you guys to trust me, alright?" Grey asked, his jaw set determinedly, "Promise?" Each of them exchanged a curious glance but nodded to him, then Grey turned to Pyrrha. "As for you, I don't want you to interfere. Just keep your lipstick on, K?"

Pyrrha never wore lipstick. Judging by how the rest of Team JNPR rose their eyebrows at her, this wasn't lost on them, but instead of calling them out on it, Grey's cousin just nodded grimly at him with a steely resolve. No one else knew what he meant by that. It was a secret code between them, Bloom, and Grandpa Arsen that meant, "Do it for Rouge," and was the ultimate, unquestionable way they told each other "I know what I'm doing, and under no circumstances should you do anything other than what I ask you to do." It was only ever used for emergencies, so Pyrrha obviously didn't like it. Regardless, she would remain in her seat unless Grey was either dead or dying.

Cracking his neck, Grey put up his hands. He was ready. With a wave of her riding crop, Glynda sounded the bell to announce the beginning of combat, and each of the members of Team RWBY charged him simultaneously. Grey didn't put up a fight. He didn't do anything other than immediately drop his hands and scream a blood curdling howl so loud that it shook the foundations of the building, and send all four members of the team flying into the walls. A hot wind blew into the stands. A bright flame surrounded Grey, and his aura, now a visible crimson color, burned into the floor surrounding him.

 **"It's good to see you guys again,"** Black Steele announced, **"I'm glad it's under better circumstances this time."**

The majority of people in the stands had cleared out at the point Black arrived, only Teams JNPR, RWBY, and CMEN remaining. Even CFVY had run away. Glynda looked at Pyrrha for confirmation, judging the girl's reaction to see what she, as a professor, should do since she knew the young champion had more experience with this beast than anyone. All Pyrrha was doing was leaning forward on her knees, anxiously curling her hands together.

Black stalked around the arena, cracking his knuckles and back. There was a bloodthirsty smirk on his lips as he glanced into the fearful eyes of the four girls. Each of them backed away from him, practically hiding behind their weapons. Only Yang looked confident enough to throw herself back into the fight, and tightening her fists, she charged. However, the deadly aura died away like a flick of a switch, and suddenly Grey was smiling up at her and her team with his trademark wolfish grin, appearing more like a golden retriever compared to his previous alter ego, making Yang stumble to a halt.

"Relax guys," he said bouncily, "It's still me. Black and I… came to an understanding. I wanted to show you to see what you would do."

"You can't be serious, Grey!" Pyrrha called from the stands, jumping to her feet, "Do you not remember what that man has done?!" Grey glared at her.

"Of course, I do!" he snarled, lashing out at her, "I remember that better than anyone! But after losing Ruby and Weiss once, I made a promise to myself to never let it happen again, and this was the only way to do it! I promise you that it's fine. Sit back down." Pyrrha was so angry that Jaune thought he saw a vein about to pop out of her forehead, but she did as she was told and returned to her seat.

The members of Team RWBY each had different reactions to Grey's reasoning for accepting his inner demon. Weiss faltered and let down her guard, Yang growled, Blake tensed, but Ruby? Ruby had the hardest reaction.

Just before Pyrrha returned to her seat, Grey saw Crescent Rose appear around his torso, Ruby standing behind him. A gunshot sounded, and Grey was pulled across the arena. He had put up a barrier around his abdomen just quickly enough to not get sliced by the blade, but before he could really recover, Weiss and Blake were already charging towards him airborne, coming down hard on him.

Grey fired a barrage of missiles, which Weiss bounded away from with a sigil, and Blake diverted with a shadow clone. Now at floor level, they doubled against him. Blake was the first, slashing her katana upwards which he parried away, then blocked the next few strikes. Weiss tagged in and stabbed at him rapidly, but what he wasn't able to block, he was able to dodge. Then, they came at him two on one, hitting him hard, making him cover his face and body with his arms, and surround himself with shields, and yet he was still blown away by Yang flanking him with a shotgun blast. Rolling away, Ruby scooped him up and slammed him into the floor, but his shield helped him recover right away after lessening the blow.

On his feet, he saw the lash of Gambol Shroud too late. Blake yanked hard on the chord and sent him flying into Yang who shot him into the ground. Weiss impaled Myrtenaster into the floorboards, forming a sigil underneath her opponent. Without any pause, she charged the mark with dust, and as Grey hit the ground, the semblance exploded into an eruption of hellfire that enveloped his entire body.

The four relaxed their shoulders, convinced that they had won the fight. When they started, they all had a terrible knot in their stomach that if they didn't take Grey down before he could summon Black Steele, they wouldn't be walking away from the fight unscathed, or even conscious. Looking up at the scoreboard, however, they knew they had failed. Even after taking one of the worst beatings the team had ever given out to a single opponent, Grey's aura was still nearly full, and rising from the flames of Weiss's bomb was his increasingly imposing form, the ashes floating in the air surrounding him. Black Steele was smirking at them, his lips oozing sass.

 **"Is that all? I'm disappointed,"** he jabbed, rolling his shoulders, **"Let's get this over with, shall we?"**

To say that Team RWBY didn't want to continue the fight would be an understatement. They wanted to run. Weiss dropped to her knees. Ruby was too afraid to even raise her weapon, and Blake was nowhere to be seen, having disappeared in the empty training arena. Yang, on the other hand, was already back in the fray.

Screaming an ululating battle cry, she was fast enough to get behind Black and raise her fist to throw a strong cross to the back of his head, but his sidestep was so casual that no one had even seen it until Yang's shells had broken the floor. Black had grabbed her wrist, redirecting her strike. When did he do that? With a tight torque of his arm, he pivoted and threw Yang across the room so hard that she hit the opposite wall parallel to the ground. She ricocheted to the floor in an unmoving lump.

Ruby glanced over at Yang's unconscious body with wide eyes, then turned to Black in a tsunami of uncontrollable fury, shooting towards him by firing a series of rounds behind her, using her semblance to gain momentum. Crescent Rose was raised above her head, reaching him at breakneck speed. She missed him. By the time Ruby had slashed her blade down to him, his arm was wrapped around her waist and his lips next to her ear, paying no attention to the shockwave that destroyed the half of the building behind them.

 **"Mmm, I like it rough,"** he told her. Fighting the blush burning her face, she backed up and rolled her scythe around her neck, holding the shaft behind her and turning her waist. This made the long range weapon able to be used at short range, close enough to get Black at the neck. She missed him again. His movements were so natural that it didn't even seem like he was in control of his own body, his muscles moving on their own as if they knew what was right.

Spinning, rolling the scythe around her petite body, she formed a barrier that Black should not have been able to get passed. However, he still reached her after breaking her guard with his shields. He wrapped his arms around her neck in a headlock and pulled her body to one side as a human shield against Blake who was coming at him from behind. He whispered to Ruby again.

 **"I'd love to hold you like this later. You belong in my arms,"** his voice was low and animalistic in its tone. Ruby didn't like this side to him, but she had to admit that she didn't mind being held so closely to him. Before she could get used to it, he kicked her over to Blake, knocking them both aside.

The concussive trauma had knocked her out for a few seconds, but even teetering on the edge of consciousness, she could still feel her body being pulled over to him, and somewhere between remembering she was in the middle of a fight and flirting, she realized just how badly she wanted to kiss him again, and slap him right after. Groaning shamefully, she tried to pull herself together.

No one saw it when he appeared in front of Weiss. He was so fast over short distances like that that it seemed like even Ruby's semblance wouldn't be able to keep up with him.

Weiss slashed wildly at his back, jumping to her feet in a panic. There was no rhyme or reason to her attacks, but he managed to dodge everyone with a sly smirk, pushing her blade aside and breaking his way through the many elemental dusts that she exploded in his face. Gambol Shroud's lash wrapped around his neck, but he swung his arm around and looped it to him. A twist of his hips and a pivot in the opposite direction, and he gave one strong pull to send Blake spiraling towards him. Black was too strong. When she was within distance, he spun and kicked her back the way she came, dropping all of her aura with one shot into Ruby one more time who had just gotten onto her feet.

He spun around to Weiss again who thrust her sword to his throat. She got close to him, even seeing his smile drop in fright for a split second, but his reflexes were faster than ever. He backhanded the blade away, then grabbed her wrist. He spun her around. She yelped, expecting him to rip her arm out of his socket, but something else, something possibly much worse and definitely much scarier hit her instead.

 **"You should get used to this position,"** he growled in her ear as he pushed her against the wall, pinning her other hand above her head, grinding up against the backside of her skirt, **"You'll be in it much more once this is over."**

Weiss's knees were weak at how dominant he was being, making her bite her lip to avoid doing or saying anything stupid. What was wrong with her? She was far too composed for something like that to throw her off so much. She didn't even realize that she was pressing back against Black's groin until he separated from her, making her whimper slightly. With a twinge of disappointment in her chest, she regretted that she missed having his strong arms around her.

Sharply, she turned around and watched as he jumped into the air meeting Ruby head on. She tried to shoot him, but before she could, he pulled her to him with one of his shields. Grappling her, he had the advantage since he was larger, stronger, and since Ruby had little hand to hand experience. As they fell, he threw her into the hardwood floor. Ruby gasped, but the crash wasn't that painful, only having knocked the wind out of her, and she was up in no time.

Before she could react, though, Black pulled her towards him, his arm around her neck, but there was something weird about the hold. It had no leverage or grip, more like he was hugging her. She could have easily dropped to her knees and threw him away from her or break away from his hold, but she didn't fight back. She barely even pushed against him. Ruby wasn't his only target, either. Black turned to Weiss without letting go of the younger girl, his red irises burying themselves into her icy blue ones, and he reached out to her. Weiss felt herself getting kinetically pulled towards him until she was being hugged by his other arm.

"I want to be clear with you guys," he said to them quietly with Grey's voice, shaking angrily, "I have very strong feelings for both of you. You drive me crazy. I don't want either of you to doubt that." Grey turned away from them on his heel and sauntered out of the room towards Ozpin's office. He knew that man would have a lot to say to him after this.

 _Hey Black?_ Grey telepathically said to his inner voice, panicking from the bold way his impulses took over for him.

 _ **Yep?**_ He said back.

 _Why did I say that to them?_

 _ **Because you have very strong feelings for them.**_

 _Yeah, but-_

 _ **And they drive you crazy.**_

 _Of course, but-_

 _ **I'm just curious why you didn't mention the part about-**_

 _And we're done here!_

 **(…)**

Pyrrha was pacing back and forth in Team RWBY's dorm, Jaune watching her worriedly, Nora sleeping in Ren's lap as he played with her hair, and Yang keeping up with the champion by following the trench she was digging with her track. Blake, as usual, was stuck in bed, her nose buried into a book. Ruby and Weiss were seated on the heiress's bed, the former with her head buried into a pillow she was hugging to her chest and the other scrawling sharply in a small handbook, both of them silently supporting the other. Not a single member of the clique could shake the uneasy feeling they had.

They weren't worried about Grey's ability to summon Black. The biggest question they had about it was how he was able to do it? The most worrisome one was why?

Pyrrha couldn't understand any of this, especially given his history with the demon. Having seen first hand what Black was capable of, and what his presence alone could do to the world surrounding him, she was terrified of what this might mean for her cousin. While waiting for him to return from the office, she texted Bloom who had an even worse reaction than she did. Bloom was the only person alive who had been there to witness Black's most evil sin, so it wasn't any secret that she was heartbroken by his newfound reliance on the beast. Bloom hoped Pyrrha was joking.

"How much longer do you think this is going to last?" Ruby said with a calm tone, her nails digging deeply into her pillow.

"No idea," Weiss admitted, biting back her pride, "Headmaster Ozpin is a veteran huntsman just like all of the professors at Beacon, but he also earned his right to be the head of the Academy. With his experience and expertise, and with Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood in that office with him, it could take another few hours."

"We've been waiting here for hours already!" Yang shouted angrily, genuinely worried about him. All potential romances aside, she didn't want Grey to be kicked out school. She liked the idiot. This ungodly power and alternate persona of his, however, not so much, and she knew he could possibly be expelled from Beacon because of it. Being Ozpin's "Black Pawn" or whatever most likely wouldn't save him from that. Blake looked up from her book. A small meeting of eye contact between Yang and the faunus was all it took to calm herself down.

"I wouldn't worry, Yang," Weiss said, the clamminess of her forehead and the agitated way she scribbled in her book betraying her confident demeanor, "Grey isn't an idiot. I trust him and I don't place my trust in anyone lightly. If he thinks… doing that… was OK, or whatever, then I think he'll be fine." She sighed as her pen snapped in half and she reached into her bag to pull out another.

"That's the third one, Weiss," Blake mentioned.

"You shut your mouth!" Weiss hissed.

"We should all just relax," Jaune proclaimed soothingly, patting his hands in the air for emphasis, "Weiss is right. Grey is one of the smartest people I know. He can get out of this just fine." Pyrrha turned on her heel. When she focused her gaze on him, sharper than her iconic sword, Jaune backed up in fear, thinking he just did or said something wrong. His throat tightened up when she stormed over to him. Surprisingly, all she did was lightly place his hands on his cheeks.

"Jaune, I love you," she said importantly, "But shut up. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Wait, wha?" he blinked, "What was that first part?" Pyrrha's turned as red as her garnet hair and she broke away from him, fanning her face.

"I don't have any idea what you mean!" she said quickly. Nora and Ren smiled at them from the desk chair they were sitting in, Yang and the rest of Team RWBY taking time away from their brooding to focus on them.

"Those two need to bang and get it over with," Yang whispered to Blake.

"Hey!" Ruby called obnoxiously to the pair, "You two should kiss!" Yang and Weiss didn't hesitate to throw their own pillows across the room, knocking her backwards off of the other side of the bed. Pyrrha and Jaune broke apart from each other, their faces even redder than before, coughing awkwardly. Ruby smiled victoriously. She would make that ship set sail no matter what the cost. The laughter did ease the tension, though.

Both of Jaune and Pyrrha jumped when they felt someone grab their hands, thinking it was the other one and about to yelp in surprise, but they tensed when saw that it was someone else. Grey had appeared in the room without anyone seeing him, and the first thing he did was link Pyrrha's and Jaune's fingers together.

"There, that's better," Grey said with a grin, completely satisfied with the maneuver, "Now, you two go out and have fun, OK? I need to talk to my team." Pyrrha didn't like being dismissed. She had her own bone to pick with him and grabbed Grey by his collar, slamming him against the door behind him.

"Don't even try to kick us out of here!" she demanded, "You have so much explaining you need to do, and you're going to do it now."

"Jeez, I cannot win with you lately," Grey grumbled.

"Not if you do this kind of bull you can't!" Pyrrha snapped at him, "Do you think Rouge would be OK with this?! I can't even begin to tell you how mad I am at you!"

Grey slapped her hand away from him. Scowling, the champion stepped back, her arms crossed, ready for an explanation.

"Controlling Black was actually Rouge's idea," Grey explained, making Pyrrha raise her eyebrow, "You and I are both aware of how that ended, but do you think earning the Black Pawn piece was a coincidence? Everything that has happened up until this point after my parents died has been a product of political manipulation behind the scenes thanks to Ozpin and the other headmasters. I don't think I'd be able to explain it the same way he did, but long story short, Ozpin doesn't only justify my decision to control Black Steele, he also encourages it. What do you think I've been doing with him all semester? This is what he's been training me to do!" Leaning against the wall, rubbing his tired eyes, his voice was quiet when he said his final piece. "Trying to ignore Black's existence was going to get everyone I loved killed. I knew it, Rouge knew it, and Ozpin knew it. The only thing I could really do to stop that was come to terms with him."

It wasn't a total lie. Ozpin admitted to Grey only a few minutes ago that ever since that horrific incident in Mistral years ago, he had his eye on the boy and had made sure that he ended up at Beacon Academy. Telling everyone that Ozpin had been training Grey to control Black Steele was true as well. The only part that wasn't entirely honest was Grey leaving out that Weiss and Ruby's murderer had been the one to help Grey perfect the technique, and all of the secrets that came along with it. Grey and the hunter were, more or less, one in the same. The only difference between them being that Grey really was human whereas the hunter was a humanoid construct created by a god. Grey wasn't sure if he believed that last part, though.

"So…" Pyrrha said calmly, relaxing her muscles, "Ozpin thinks it's OK?"

"Yep," Grey said tritely, meeting her eyes and seeing the anger drain from them, replaced by her normal matronly personality.

"And you're not going to lose control again?" she followed up.

"Never," Grey shook his head strongly. Finally, after thinking about it for a bit, Pyrrha smiled warmly at him and pulled him into a hug.

"Good," she declared, "I'm glad you finally found your peace. If you're going to do this, though, I'm going to have to lay down some ground rules!"

"You know you're my friend, right Pyrrha?" Ruby asked her dominantly, putting herself between the two, which gave Grey the opportunity to sit down on Weiss's bed, "Don't you think you should give it a rest? We've all had a pretty rough day, and I think Grey had the worst of it. Let him rest for now."

"Ruby…" Pyrrha muttered, biting her lip and seeing Grey nearly collapsing against Weiss over Ruby's shoulder. Did Black Steele's possession really take that much of a toll on him? Reminding herself of her loyalty to her family, Grey being a member of that family, Pyrrha nodded to the youngest team leader at Beacon, stepped aside her, and gave Grey a protective pat on the head and an apology before heading back to the Team JNPR dorm. Ruby skipped back over to Grey and checked his eyes, turning his head in every direction so she could see how they responded to the motion.

"Are you OK? Do you need anything?" she asked him. He smirked at her curiously, his brow furrowed humorously.

"Yes? I'm fine. Why do you ask?" he said nonchalantly, as if he didn't look like his body was about to cave in on itself at any moment.

"Grey," Ruby said sternly, standing above him with her hands on her hips, "You look like Zwei after spending a whole day at the dog park, your eyes are red and puffy, and you keep breathing like you just came up for air after snorkeling. You like you're about to die." Zwei looked up when he heard his name, tilting his head which made Weiss squeal lightly and pet him lovingly, telling him how cute he was.

"Really?" Grey responded confusedly, "I feel fine. Channeling Black doesn't really do that much to me than what my semblance does."

To this, and possibly from the pained groan from Yang when she rolled her right arm for the fiftieth time in the past hour, Blake jumped out of bed and pounced over to the trio on the other side of the room, grabbing Grey rather forcefully. One way and the next, she tilted Grey's head. She placed her hand against his forehead, and held it there for a few seconds, then held his wrist and timed his pulse with two fingers against her neck. Next, she popped in and out of existence around him as she checked his limbs, making sure they were still attached, then once she was done, returned to her bed.

"He's fine," she decided, "He just looks like crap."

"See!" Grey showed his two friends, holding his arm out to Blake for emphasis, then blinking and putting his hand at his side, "Wait a minute…" Another groan from Yang, this time as more of a yelp.

"Oh, my god, Yang! What is it?!" Weiss demanded, crossing her arms, expecting Yang to respond with her normal abominable banter that they shared together, but was disappointed.

"My shoulder really hurts," she said, gritting her teeth, but the pain made the anger sound more like a whine. Grey scowled and stepped over to her.

"Let me see it," he said, a sad expression on his face since he felt responsible for it.

"Uh, I'm good Liberace's ghost!" Yang burst defiantly.

"Yang. Chair. Now." he scolded. Yang looked at him disdainfully for a second, then took off her jacket to reveal a black tank top and straddled the back of one of the desk chairs. Grey stood behind her and began pushing his hands into her back. Yang cursed so vulgarly that even sailors would turn their noses up at her.

"Anyway, all members of Team RWBY, may I have your attention please!" Ruby called across the room as she pulled something out of her school bag, thinking now would be as good a time as any to reveal a secret she'd been hiding, "I have an announcement to make!"

"One of your famous announcements?" Blake said, turning her book down.

"The very same!" Ruby beamed with pride, "And I think even Weiss will appreciate this one." Weiss crossed her legs and arms stubbornly.

"Last time you had an announcement, I ended up wearing a hot dog suit and spinning a sign."

"This is different!" Ruby pleaded.

"I doubt it," Weiss replied flatly, "But let's hear it anyway." Ruby grinned happily at her allowance and proceeded to show everyone the pamphlet she had been holding, struggling to speak at a volume higher than Yang's violent swearing.

"Did Black seriously dislocate your shoulder?!" Grey demanded.

"No, you did!" Yang spat venomously, "You said you can control him now, remember- OWOWOW!" Yang's tirade was cut short when he popped her arm back into its socket.

"How did you not even know?!"

"I don't know!"

"Anyway…" Ruby stated dryly, trying to return to her previous topic, "As you all know, the Vytal Festival is about peace between the nations of Remnant, and as such, the Festival holds a dance a few weeks before the tournament for the different academies to associate and get to know one another." Weiss rolled her eyes and Blake palmed her face, seeing where this was going. "And since this is such an important event, and I feel we all need a good team building exercise to get Team RWBY back into fighting shape after the event that will be never mentioned again, I signed all five of us up for the dance committee alongside Team CFVY."

"That is a horrible decision," Weiss admitted immediately, Ruby slumping at the reaction.

"Hold on, five of us?" Grey noted, looking up from a loudly moaning Yang whose back he was now massaging with his elbow.

"Ruby, I don't think this is going to work," Blake admitted, "With all of us working on the dance at once, everything would be too cluttered for anyone to enjoy themselves. All of us have very different ideas on what would make a good party, like my goth style, Yang as a metalhead, and Weiss thinking the only good party is the boring upper crust nonsense from high society."

"I resent that remark!" Weiss returned, flustered.

"Weiss, you know she's right," Grey said slyly. Weiss stammered, trying to formulate a coherent remark to shoot back at him, but the problem was that they were right. Not only did Weiss enjoyed fancy dinner parties. The last time she tried to organize one for the team, though, they all fell asleep and then went to Sandwich Queen since it was more "exciting."

"That's why we should do it!" Ruby explained fretfully, "Not only do Weiss and I need an activity that will help reorient us into the real world after being asleep for so long, but it would be good for all of us to do something together after all of the trouble we put you through."

"True," Weiss admitted, an anxious lump growing in her throat at the way Ruby kept referencing something she desperately wanted to ignore, "But this isn't just woodshop or something else like that. This is the Vytal Festival! If we mess up, it could hurt the global peace that our parents worked so hard to create and that the governments of each country are trying so hard to keep."

"Oh, yes! Right there~!" Yang moaned, receiving dirty looks from the other three in the room.

"I already knew that Weiss," Ruby explained, "I thought it would be good for us to build something together with all of our different ideas and personalities because if we can make something like this look good together, then it will help us become the best huntsman team in any academy, and will help us win the tournament later in the semester. The pressure of politics will just make it so much better! I don't know if you can hear me, though, since some people are being so loud!" Ruby shouted pointedly to her sister and her crush.

"Ruby, you don't understand!" Yang shouted back, digging her nails into the chair, "He has the hands of a demigod! You guys are so lucky he's into you because I would so steal him from you if he wasn't!"

"Alright, you've had enough," Grey said scowling, flicking her in the back of the head then sitting heavily on his cot. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what Weiss was drawing in her diary, seeing the same word scratched all over in every inch, in every font and size. Who or what was Aber?

"Why?!" Yang whined at length.

"Because you're a pervert," Grey said, "And, like you said yourself, I'm not into you. I'm into Weiss and Ruby."

 _ **You should probably stop talking,**_ Black pointed out to him, referencing the careless giggles in the corner as the pair revelled in the attention. Black was right. This wasn't the time nor the place to have that conversation, and Grey didn't want to have it anyway.

"Oh, and about the dance committee thing? I'm in," Grey said.

"You are?!" Ruby squeaked happily, her arms swinging up to her face.

"If I don't keep an eye on you, Ru, then you're going to get in trouble," he shot with playful grin, "You know that."

"Butthead," she muttered under her breath, pouting.

"I guess it would be fun," Weiss admitted frustratedly, "I'll join you." A smiled played at the corner of Blake's mouth since it was so obvious that she was only doing this to make sure Ruby didn't get an advantage in their game. How could she resist? Blake had no choice at this point either.

"Looks I'll be there, as well," Blake said, "I don't have anything better to do, and organizing a party does sound like it could be fun."

"I'm in!" Yang announced, holding her hand up, "There is no way I can let you guys organize this. No offense, but none of you know what you're doing."

"Is that so, Yang?" Blake glared at her. The pair began bickering at each other, less of an argument and more like a banter tense of a certain desire. Weiss, Ruby, and Grey stood side by side watching them with narrowed eyes. They looked bored with them.

"They just need to bang and get it over with," Grey decided.

"Yep," Ruby agreed.

"No kidding, Sherlock," Weiss decided. Grey turned to both of them.

"That said," he told them tritely, then began digging through his bag next to his cot and pulled out a blue zip up hoodie with white laces, and a black pull over hoodie with the red symbol of the soulless from Empire Hearts over the center, "These are yours now."

He threw both of the hoodies to the girls according to their color patterns, Ruby getting the black one and Weiss getting the blue one. Before they could respond, Grey was already in bed, trying to sleep. Clearly, he didn't want to talk about it, so naturally they ignored him. As much as the girls wanted to say something, they pulled his hoodies up to their noses, breathing in the scent of campfires and ginger heavily, their eyes fluttering dreamily. When they each realized that the other had copied the motion, they scowled and turned away from each other.

"What exactly is going on with them now?" Yang whispered bemusedly, having no idea how to react to that trio.

"I… I have no idea," Blake declared at the same volume. Yang looked at her intently.

"Truce, for now?"

"Truce. Until we figure this out, that is."

With that, the two contestants shook hands and got into their respective beds. From across the room, they smiled happily. Even though the lights were turned off, and both of them underneath the duvets of their bunks, Blake and Yang could both see that the other girls had only curled up under their blankets after they had pulled their new hoodies around themselves.

The next few weeks were either going to be very fun, or very dangerous. Not one member of the team could wait to see which one it would be.

 **(A/N) And there you have it, Beautiful Hunters! I hope you can see why I was so excited to get this chapter out.**

 **As always, no spoilers. I can't tell you anything about anything mentioned in this chapter, so naturally, you're going to have to wait until that information reveals itself later in the story. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review, and I look forward to seeing you guys in the Act 2 finale next month!**


	14. Act 2, Chapter 8

**(A/N) Welcome to the Finale of Act 2, Beautiful Hunters! As with Act 1, the normal page limit I try to set for each chapter doesn't apply, so this one is naturally going to be much longer than normal. I hope you have fun with it! Also, thank you for being patient with the two day delay. New Year's and Christmas, you know? I really appreciate your patience.**

 **On a more personal note, I've been working on this story, this novel for almost an entire year now with 13 main chapters and 1 filler one-shot, and Act 2 is now finally finishing up. Admittedly, that's… kind of terrifying for me. It's just now sinking in how long I've been working on it, how much effort I've put in, and how many people tune in every month to enjoy the product of my work. I really can't put into words how great it feels to look back on all that I've accomplished over the past year, and then turn around and look at what is to come later in the next. In short, I want to thank you guys for making this worth it each month.**

 **Anyway, let's put aside the sappiness and get on with things, shall we?**

 **Act 2**

Chapter 8

"I don't think they're loud enough," Grey tried to be heard over the bass of the speakers, covering his ears, barely able to even hear himself.

"What?!" Yang shouted back, evidently proud that she was going to lose her hearing at 22. Her pugilist comrade rolled his eyes. Following that, however, was the pair rolling aside when the machine exploded into a hail of bullets, flames, and then was bisected cleanly enough for the top half to slide smoothly onto the floor. The two turned around cautiously to see Blake, Ruby, and Weiss glaring at them in perturbed astonishment.

"Are you trying to make us go deaf?!" Blake demanded, putting her weapon away, the other two following the motion.

"Oh, come on, Blake!" Yang defended, "This is going to be a dance! You know, a party? Everyone is going to be shouting over each other so they won't be able to hear the music anyway. It needs to be loud!"

"True, but not for the later half of the night when everything is winding down to slow songs and everyone starts leaving," Weiss shot back while watching a shirtless Grey replace the broken system with a new one, discretely wiping away her drool, "And before the party even begins is a dinner, and the dance is mostly going to be a black-tie event anyway. You've probably got an hour worth of hardcore partying at best."

"Yeah, alright Miss Doilies," Yang dismissed, "After living in Atlas your whole life, you probably wouldn't know a good party if we set one up in our dorm." Weiss puffed her cheeks out, ready to challenge the obnoxious woman, but quickly getting distracted.

"That reminds me," Weiss said, pulling two color swatches from her sleeve and holding them out to Grey, "Which do you think would look better?" Grey stared at them blankly.

"Not sure. Why don't you try something white?" He smiled playfully at the girl who put the Pearl and Eggshell patterns away, but as she turned around, Grey caught her hand and spun her into him, making her yelp as her hands hit his chest, her face way too close to his, "I'd go with Pearl. The other one would throw everything off because it would contrast too harshly with the tablecloths." Weiss blushed, smiling happily that he agreed with what she had been thinking, and skipped away with glee. Blake sidled up to Grey.

"You had no idea what you were talking about, did you?" she asked knowingly.

"Not a clue," he admitted, "But she talks in her sleep."

Shaking her head at him playfully, Blake walked away and began helping Velvet and Yatsuhashi with the banners at the entrance to the auditorium. While watching Yang and Fox argue over the layout of the nauseatingly expensive stereo system, Grey stepped over to where Coco and Ruby were chatting over some pizza Weiss had ordered for the committee and joined their conversation.

Before Grey even sat down, Coco was already teasing him and Ruby about their romance. After Grey gave two of his favorite hoodies to her and Weiss, a collection he wore often enough that everyone knew who the hoodies truly belonged to, word had spread like wildfire through the academy about the trio's budding relationship. They had even earned the name "Red Ivory," the first word being Ruby's favorite color, the second being Weiss's, and the ivory supposedly being a metal meant to reference Black Steele. Coco's passively vulgar comments earned a quick blush from the pair who tried to ignore her.

Granted, they weren't together yet. After Grey had given up his favorite hoodies, effectively claiming the girls as his as high school tradition demanded, nothing had happened between the three of them. No one made a move. Grey especially hadn't tried to kiss either one of them, or even try to hold their hands, let alone ask either of them on a date or anything "coupley" like that. Fortunately, if nothing else, at least their feelings for each other were clear. Weiss and Ruby had been perfectly honest with Grey about how they felt about him, so really, the ball was in his court if he wanted anything to progress with either of them, and yet he hadn't done anything yet. If it weren't for his eager surrender of his clothing to them, the girls would have lost all hope about trying to be with him.

A few minutes went by and Coco left the table to go order some supplies for the dance such as carnations, confetti, plastic utensils for the hors-devours, or anything else they might need. Flirtatiously, Ruby waited until she was gone, then cuddled up against Grey, her head buried into his chest. She was comfortable there. It wasn't like snuggling was anything new to them, always having been connected in some way before things progressed from friendship to a potential romance, but now, Grey didn't seem to want to touch her. When she pushed against him, he tensed up like she slapped him. Blinking, she pulled away. He denied that there was anything wrong when she asked him about it, but she knew there was something. When she saw him glance over to Weiss, she thought she knew what it was.

Grey was a very physical person. He would often pick Ruby up over his shoulder to carry her to class, or crash into her with a hug, but ever since Weiss got involved, he would always keep her at arm's length. It was infuriating. If he was trying not to make Weiss jealous, Ruby admired his sweetness, but that didn't mean she was any less angry with the heiress for ruining their cuddle time.

Her scroll buzzed. As if it were a gift from the heavens, Weiss had texted her, asking if she could help her with something. Ruby gratefully excused herself from the table, ready to argue. Grey frowned sadly as he watched her leave, but Velvet came over as soon as the seat was vacated and cheered him up by distracting him with the seating arrangement.

"I'm glad you called me," Ruby said as she got within strangle distance of Weiss, "I wanted to talk to you."

"I've been meaning to speak with you, as well," she admitted, her hands on her hips. Ruby could see that the fencer was looking over her shoulder at their crush behind her, but she caught that the heiress's eyes weren't filled with their usual affectionate longing for him that they normally had. In fact, she seemed… worried?

"Is everything OK, Weiss?" Ruby asked, holding her teammate's wrist gently. Weiss looked up at her blankly.

"I'm worried about him," she said quietly. Ruby raised her eyebrow, her frustration with the girl put aside for now.

"Is he acting weird around you, too?" she asked, lowering her voice. Weiss leaned in, making it look to anyone outside their conversation that they were gossiping like they high school girls they often forgot they were. Training as the world's most elite warriors could easily make a teenager forget how young they were.

"It's not just me," she said importantly, "Blake, Yang, and Velvet all said that they were having trouble with him. Even Penny noticed something was off about him and they've only had, what, one conversation about clogs?"

"I'll admit, he has been acting pretty strangely…" Ruby muttered, "Every time I try to touch him, he gets really tense until I move away from him." Weiss nodded.

"It's the same way with me, too," she agreed, "Except that he seems fine being the one to make the move. He'll occasionally stroke my hair or hold my hand for a few seconds, but if I try to do the same, he'll move away. This morning, when we were all in the common room before class, I tried to brush his hair out of his face, and he backed away and held his hands out like I was about to hurt him. He laughed it off, but it was just-"

"I get it Weiss," Ruby interrupted, not wanting to hear about how the man she desired was so willing to touch another girl but not her, her hand up to her chin, pondering all of this. As much as she didn't want to hear about Grey flirting with her love rival, she knew that she had to put that nonsense away for now since something was clearly bothering their friend. "Do you think it has anything to do with Black Steele?"

Weiss straightened up at the name. It had been a few days since they had fought during gym class, but even now, even though she knew that the black heart was an ally, the name still gave her chills. It was surreal how everyone was suddenly OK with him now. Even Pyrrha didn't seem too put off by the demon perpetually waiting in the wings of Grey's psyche, giving him a wide berth most commonly, but not unwilling to treat him kindly.

"I don't know, Ruby," Weiss grumbled, shaking her head, "I don't doubt his fusion with Black has somehow changed him in some way, but this doesn't seem like something as simple as a personality shift. He doesn't seem… confident anymore, if that makes sense." Weiss peeked over Ruby's shoulder at Grey one more time, only for Ruby to see Weiss's eyes grow wide. "We'll have to talk about this later. It looks like he left." Ruby sighed.

"He's going to get into trouble, isn't he?" she asked rhetorically.

"Probably," Weiss admitted.

In truth, Grey had left the room to go hang out with Team JNPR. In the paraphrased words of an anime he ironically enjoyed, the two season harem comedy seeming more like a fanfiction than a serious story, "hanging out with women all the time is fine, but every once in awhile, dudes need other dudes to stay sane." He was currently sprawled out on Pyrrha's bed while Ren paced around the room while proofing his manuscript for an upcoming speech, and Jaune at his desk working on an essay.

"You seem tense, Grey," Ren noticed, not looking up from his notes. Grey turned his head lethargically and looked at his friend with narrowed eyes.

"I can never hide anything from you, can I?" he asked flatly. Ren smiled at the remark, making Grey sigh and explain. "It's about Weiss and Ruby."

"Too much trouble?" Ren offered.

"No," Grey murmured, "I'm not going to lie, that is definitely an issue right now, but it's not that. It has more to do with… you know what? Let's not talk about this." Finally, Ren looked up from his paper, side frowning at the diversion from the topic, but choosing not to say anything. If Grey didn't want to talk about it, Ren wouldn't make him. Still, with the emotion that was permeating off of Grey like a really expensive cheese, Ren had a pretty good idea what was bothering him so much. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Jaune decided to join the conversation.

"How are you holding up with the two of them, though?" he asked, "I can understand why having two women fight over you can be rough. I saw it happen with my sisters and one of their boyfriends growing up, so I'm not going to pretend that this is ideal for you."

"If I'm being honest with you," Grey said, "I'm crazy about both of them, but there is no way in the Nine Hells that I'm actually going to tell them that. I already know that they think I'm avoiding them, but the reason for that has nothing to do with the drama that comes from having two women on your arm. You said you understand the issue, Jaune, and I believe you. How do you think your sisters would react to a guy that made them feel like he was doubting his affections for them?"

"They'd probably feel like he'd never be happy with his choice," Jaune said after some thought, "And would probably feel like they would never be good enough in his eyes, and he would end up with neither of them, and both of them would probably hate him afterwards. I can see why you would be worried about that."

"Pretty much. If I choose one, it would wreck the friendship with the other girl. If I choose neither, it will break both of their hearts and our relationship would be irreparably damaged. Even if I do make a choice, there's no telling that I would even end up staying with the girl I choose, and once I'm in one relationship, chances are their friendship would suffer as a result. And that's not even what's got me in this big of a funk," Grey announced the last part with a grin, then pulled out his scroll and began typing on it, receiving a glinting glare from REn at the motion. Now? Was it time? "But that aside, what are you guys going to do about the dance?"

Ren stopped pacing, Jaune shrunk in his chair, and they exchanged a nervous glance. Grey rose an eyebrow at them. They held that stare for a good few seconds before it was made very clear that their romantically endangered comrade wasn't going to let them slide without giving him an answer. They hadn't even thought about it, really.

"I don't really hold any strong feelings for anyone in this school," Ren declared, "So, I was thinking I would just go with Nora as friends." Grey desperately wanted to call that bluff, but chose to turn to Jaune instead.

"And you?" he asked. Jaune crossed his arms and shrugged.

"I don't really think I'll have too much of an issue," he decided, "The girls in this school outweigh the boys three to one, so I should be able to find someone willing to go with me. I already know who all the couples are, so I'll have to avoid those girls, and I doubt too many of them would be doing what Ren and Nora are doing, so I like my chances. One of them is bound to say yes."

"You should try asking Cinder or Coco," Ren decided, and Grey smirked at the jab. He saw what Ren was getting at.

"Oh, yeah, I agree," Grey teased, sitting up and smiling slyly at the farm boy, "I mean, the worst that they would say is no, and even though you probably have no chance with either of them, how many guys do you think can say they went after the hot chick? I say go for it. What's the worst that can happen?" Jaune's face turned beet red and he began studying the floor so hard his eyes might have burned a hole through it.

Grey and Ren shared a mischievous glance. The more reserved aura seeker was normally entirely emotionless, his semblance being able to block out all feelings, but now, his lips were curled into a wicked grin. More to his combat style, though, he wasn't about to hit his target directly.

"Jaune's hopeless but amazingly ambitious love life aside, what do you think Pyrrha is going to do for the dance?" Ren asked, his attention focused on Grey but his question being directed to Jaune. Grey shrugged, pretending to forget the previous conversation with the farm boy.

"I seriously doubt that girl could a date," Grey mused. Jaune laughed.

"Oh, please. If Pyrrha doesn't get a date, I'll show up to the dance in a dress," he announced sarcastically, but withered under Grey's and Ren's cunning looks. Ren and Grey had been planning this conversation for months. It was finally time to put it in play.

"I really, really want to hold you to that," Grey intoned, then sat up and looked at Jaune like he was a dumb puppy, "I grew up with Pyrrha, Blondie. I could go on for hours in the most detailed historical epic possible about how everyone was afraid to even talk to her when we were kids, but I'd rather put this as simply as possible for you. No one outside of your team even talks to Pyrrha. What makes you think anyone is actually going to make a move on her?"

"Because she's Pyrrha Nikos!" Jaune huffed indignantly, "She's the smartest, kindest, most beautiful person I know. She's a champion, world class fighter, not to mention that she was and is a famous celebrity, and that she was popular enough, and a good enough athlete to be featured on the cover of Pumpkin Pete's Cereal! Why wouldn't anyone want to date her?"

Grey raised his eyebrow darkly. Step One of this plan of his was to get Jaune to admit what he thought about Pyrrha, but he wasn't expecting such a passionate answer. That would make Step Two much easier.

"People tend to be intimidated by her," Grey said, waving his hand dismissively, "No one thinks they have a chance with her, so they don't do anything about it."

"They're idiots," Jaune spat. Ren whistled.

"Wow, that's a little harsh for you Jaune," he noted.

"That's true, but can you blame me?" Jaune said, "Pyrrha is incredible, and any man would be lucky to have her. She's my best friend, and I really want to see her happy, you know?" Jaune stood up and walked over to a full body mirror where Team JNPR had hung up some photos, frowning as he examined a solo shot of Pyrrha overlooking the city. "Actually, she's way more important to me than a best friend. She… Hey, Ren? What does it mean that I want to say she makes my heart smile? She's made me the man I am today, and there's nothing in this world that I care about more than her."

Grey's and Ren's smiles both dropped. That confession of his, as confusing as it may have been for him, told the two aura seekers more than they had ever thought they would hear. It tugged on their heart strings, despite their emotional shallowness. They were grateful they knew each other, and were friends, because they were the only two people in the Academy who were able to see Jaune's invisible aura glowing pink with the subconscious feelings for his teammate he had expressed to them, and they were glad they could share the experience with one another. Lacing his fingers over his mouth and closing his eyes, Grey took a deep breath to steady himself. Ren had to use his semblance to create a good response to the success of Step Two- Jaune recognizing his feelings.

"That's love, Jaune," he stated, "You love her." Jaune blinked.

"I don't think that's accurate, Ren," Grey growled, trying not to keel over from this scenario and knowing how drastically the right words could change the setting, "He doesn't simply love her. He's in love with her."

"What? But- but I- I can't- I wouldn't- I shouldn't," Jaune stammered, "There's no way I could! She's my teammate! It wouldn't be right! And she's way out of my league, anyway!" Grey raised his eyebrow, looking at him over his hands.

"First of all, as her cousin, bodyguard, and the guy who more often than not fills that big brother role for her, if I thought it was a problem, I would have mentioned, just you're aware of that," Grey noted, making Jaune blush, "Second, part of the reason I'm OK with it, and part of the reason I think you should make a move on her is because I'm at least 95,000% sure that she's crazy about you, too." Jaune rubbed his arm, trying to shrink up and go unnoticed.

"I don't think I could even talk to her about this," Jaune whispered, "I… I do love her. I'm in love with, and you're right about that, but…"

"You don't have to talk," Grey said, "Because she's been sitting outside the door listening to everything we've been talking about."

Nora opened the door and jumped into Ren's arms, hugging him tightly with a loud cackle, and following just behind her, a light smile on her face as tears streamed down her flushed cheeks, was Pyrrha. Standing in the doorway, she wiped her face, not breaking eye contact with Jaune. Sitting in the corner, Grey could feel his eyes sting as if he was about to start tearing up himself, remembering their childhood, and how lonely she had been outside of his company. She never had a single friend, and this idiot had somehow become her first, and then fixed her broken heart right after sneaking into it. Apparently, all it took to become Pyrrha's friend was to have no idea who she was, and then not care about her status after finding out about it. True to Grey's first impression of the boy, Jaune was an idiot. A loveable, kind, caring and compassionate idiot.

Grey loved him for it. Pyrrha deserved to be happy. Seeing her break down and hug the farm boy, holding onto him for dear life, he could see just how much Jaune meant to her, and how happy his confession had just made her. Pyrrha was in love with him. Having learned her feelings for him were requited was greater than any paradise this life or the next one could offer. As she planted a kiss on Jaune's lips, Jaune returned the gesture in kind. Gently, he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her in. His movements seemed awkward to an onlooker, not that the other three people in the room should have been watching them at that point, but in reality, they were filled with desire. It was clear just how much Jaune wanted this, having refused to believe it until now. The reason his grip on her was so stiff, the way he was so hesitant to run his hands along her back or pull her more closely to him, was because he thought this conclusion he found himself in was impossible, and now that he had it, he was trying to be careful so he didn't lose it. It was weird, but at the very least understandable.

Either that, or Grey was reading too much into it, and Jaune just had no idea how to hold a woman. Probably both. Regardless, Nora and Ren joined him on Pyrrha's bed and whispered to him about this event.

"You guys are so lucky you got me in on your plan," Nora said, shaking her head proudly, "There is no way you could have done this without me."

"That's true," Ren admitted.

"Originally, I thought doing something great and bold and pushing them into this direction by force would have been good, but you guys know them well enough to know that wouldn't have worked for people so humble as them," Grey explained, "I figured something subtle like tricking Jaune into a love confession would be better. You and I both know they would never do it on their own."

"If we left their relationship in their own hands, nothing would have happened," Ren agreed, but he looked somewhat uncomfortable. Despite the result of their meddling, Ren didn't like that he involved himself so deeply in Arkos.

"So, a big question I have for you guys is was this a spur of the moment thing, or were you planning this all along?" Nora rolled over the bed and put Grey into a headlock, making him gag for a second, then pinned him underneath her knee but giving him enough room to talk. This was a threat. She wanted to know how much of his and Ren's secret agent work she had missed out on. Grey knew that if he told her they had been hiding this from her for so long, it wouldn't have ended well for him, but if he lied. She would know. He didn't need to experience it firsthand to know Nora's anger was worse if it was truly earned.

"Months, Valkyrie. Months," Grey revealed. Grey's hair stood on end when he saw the soul drain out of Nora's eyes at the very moment she decided to kill him. Before she could grab her hammer, though, Grey whimpered one more thing. "Please don't hurt me…"

Grey looked up at the girl with a puppy's eyes. Squinting, then grimacing, and then that grimace deteriorating to a full on cringe, Nora finally gave in and let out a defeated wale, letting him sit back up on the bed. However, she did have one more question for him. A smirk found its way on her lips.

"Now, just what are we going to do about your love life?" Nora mused, wiggling her eyebrows at her single friend.

"Not mention it or get involved in any way under pain of death?" Grey ask sarcastically, smiling tightly, his voice devoid of all humor "Or at least talk to me about it tomorrow. It's late, and I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight!" With that, Grey walked out of the room, everyone calling after to him as he left, but Nora held her hand up a bit too long, showing that the gears in her head were turning. Ren saw the dangerous look in her eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Nora, please don't get involved," he pleaded.

"Oh, I'm totally going to get involved," she decided. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren all spoke up to respond.

"Nora, no!"

"Nora, yes!"

She didn't have the chance to make her move. The minute she shot of bed, Pyrrha had grabbed Milo and pinned her to the wall in spear form, Ren giving his permission to leave her there for as long as it took her to calm down.

 **(...)**

It was 2 in the morning, and Ruby couldn't sleep. Ever since that conversation with Weiss earlier in the day, and Grey's sudden disappearance, she had been unsettled. What made matters even worse for her was that Pyrrha and Jaune were suddenly a thing now, thanks to Grey, which only made her heart ache more for a more intimate relationship with her crush. Sure, Arkos finally setting sail was amazing, but given how they so easily jumped into a relationship- and it was about time they did -it made Ruby agonizingly jealous that her own situation couldn't resolve itself like that. She had to do something.

She just had to wait until morning and then she could try talking to Grey. Lying awake in bed, unable to sleep was one of the most annoying, uncomfortable experiences a person could go through, tossing and turning and unable to get comfortable, their eyes getting glued shut without rest and only ending up more tired than before. It was even worse when they shared a room with someone else. If she were back at home, she could have just drug herself downstairs and turned on the TV, had a snack, and went to the bathroom, but now she had to keep herself as still as possible so she wouldn't wake up the rest of her team. Yang was a heavy sleeper, her left arm and leg hanging over the side of the bed, drool dripping from her lips, but the other three would wake up if a fly landed on the bathroom door.

Anxiety was terrible. Even if she did fall asleep, it wouldn't be a good night for her.

Turning on her side slowly, trying to make the sway of her bed and creek of its ropes as inaudible as possible, she stared silently at Team RWBY. Blake was absolutely adorable when she was asleep. The faunus often slept restlessly, kicking off her duvet the minute she was unconscious, but right now, she had her arms wrapped tightly around her memory foam pillow, biting into it like she was dreaming she was eating a giant marshmallow, her legs pulled up against her chest. Ruby dipping her head out of her curtains, she was slightly disappointed with Weiss's position. As prim and proper as always, the heiress was stiff as a board. Lying on her back, she had at least four blankets, maybe more, pulled up to her chin, and only ever moving every few seconds when she took a breath. Occasionally, she would giggle. Ruby gaped when she heard why.

"Oh, Grey, you're so bad!" Weiss murmured. Ruby's face grew hot, deadpanning at the girl below her.

"Pervert," she grumbled. Weiss's face devolved into a scowl, and she turned on her side.

"You're one to talk to, Ruby," she whispered. Ruby's eyes went wide.

"You can hear me?!" Ruby hissed.

"Of course, I can!" Weiss spat, "It's not like you're being subtle up there!" Ruby stared down at the ivory princess for a few seconds before smiling cunningly.

"Then why did you say that?" Ruby whined back, referencing Weiss's pretend dream. The princess smirked, her eyes still closed.

"Just to mess with you," she admitted. Ruby's cheeks puffed out, her lips pouting in defiance at the remark, but then she realized that if she had really woken up Weiss with her mattress splashing, the girl wouldn't have had the coherence to make that kind of plan. She couldn't wake up without coffee. Slyly, Ruby smirked.

"You can't sleep either, can you?" she teased. Weiss groaned quietly before responding.

"Not a wink," she agreed, "I've… been having nightmares."

Frowning, Ruby deftly jumped to the floor, hardly making a sound due to her years of training, and kneeling next to her friend's bed as Weiss sat up, her eyes puffy and bloodshot like she had been crying. Ruby took her hands, massaging them gently, and was surprised to see that the rich brat wasn't pulling away. Suddenly very concerned, Ruby quickly pulled Weiss into a hug. Weiss immediately wrapped her arms around Ruby's shoulders, putting the younger girl into a vice as she shook and sniffled, trying so hard to hold back her sobs.

Ruby had to jump on the bed with her. This wasn't the type of crying one has because of sadness or anger, or even pain, but something a person only expresses when they're afraid. After her mom died, Ruby had cried this cry more than once. Weiss's current bout easily lasted ten minutes, making Ruby jump in bed next to her and pulling her more closely, more comfortingly in an effort to calm her down. When Ruby's night shirt was effectively stained with tears, Weiss was finally able to regain control of herself, wipe her face, and rest her head on Ruby's shoulder in calm silence. Her hands were shaking.

"What were they about?" Ruby finally asked, pulling one of her juice boxes out of her bedside drawer and inserting the straw for her distraught teammate. Weiss took it gratefully.

"Battles, mostly," the girl revealed, nearly finishing her drink in one sitting and her friend grabbing another for her, "None of them make any sense. I don't see any Atlas troops, or Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, but there are hordes of grimm. The humans and faunus are able to defeat them easily enough, but after awhile, it becomes pretty obvious that the grimm, most of which I've never even seen before, are winning."

"Are there any huntsman?" Ruby asked, placing a hand on Weiss's knee which the aristocrat removed. Ruby didn't protest.

"No," Weiss said, shaking her head, "There aren't even any trick weapons or dust. All they have are basic swords and shields, pikes, axes, and nothing that any huntsman or soldier would be caught dead using today, besides Jaune, of course, but he said his is a hand-me-down from his grandfather. It seems like these battles are hundreds of years old. That would explain why the militaries are wearing long coats with brass buttons, why there aren't any permanent kingdoms, and why the grimm look so alien and confusing."

"You don't think these dreams are real, do you?" Ruby asked. The way she was talking about them, her tone sounding so confident and assured, made it seem like she was treating them like a history textbook in movie form rather than her subconscious playing tricks on her. Weiss waved Ruby off.

"Oh, not at all!" she dismissed, "It's just that there's someone in the dreams that is consistent throughout every single one of them." Ruby raised her eyebrow.

"Who is that?" she asked, suddenly very intrigued. Recurring dreams were disconcertingly rare.

"There's this man there, tall and dark with ashen skin and black veins running up his arms," she explained, "He looks like… he kind of looks like a demon, and his infernal black eyes just add to that. I see him arguing with someone else, a smaller, more gangly man that looks like him kind of, only more handsome and with silver eyes like yours, and they're just… watching the battles. Sometimes, the other man isn't there, but the larger one always is, and he's always watching. All I really remember about him from these dreams, though, is his name even though I've never actually heard it, so I keep drawing it in my diary to try to get it out of my head." Weiss's voice cracked, her speech becoming more erratic. "It's just always repeating. Aber, Aber, Aber. Who is he?" Ruby shook her head, and pulled one leg up on the bed to her chest, holding it against herself and resting her head overtop Weiss's who buried her face in the younger girl's shoulder.

"I wish I knew," Ruby admitted truthfully. Weiss drained her second juice box and politely asked for another, which Ruby readily gave to her, and then the dreamer continued.

"It wouldn't be so bad if these nightmares weren't so vivid," she groaned, "I'm not creative like you or Blake, so I shouldn't even be able to subconsciously come up with grimm like that, and what does it even mean that I'm dreaming about the slaughter of humans and faunus in the first place?" Weiss shook her head. "Nevermind. I've talked enough."

"Are you feeling better?" Ruby asked, patting Weiss's cheek, the girl looking at her flatly.

"I guess. Thanks, Ruby," Weiss agreed, but as Ruby jumped out of her bed and began climbing back up to her bunk, Weiss stubbornly pulled her back down. Ruby eyed her curiously and returned to her perch.

"What's up?" she asked. Weiss played with the hem of her nightgown stiffly for a second before answering.

"Ruby, would you consider us… f-friends?" she asked stiffly. She was completely insulted when Ruby began cackling at her, even if it was quiet enough to make sure she didn't wake up Blake and Yang, but accepted the torturous hug when it came.

"Of course I do, Weiss!" Ruby admonished her happily, "Where have you been the past school year?!"

Smiling happily, trying to keep her joy restrained, Weiss returned the hug. Who would have thought that the most immature brat of the first year class and the girl that blew her up in the courtyard on the first day of school would become her best friend?

They agreed to have a sleepover for the rest of the night to enjoy their newfound status, but around 3 AM, they heard a beeping in the corner of the room, then some rustling in the same direction. Their hearts jumped into their throats. They turned into the direction of the sound, towards Grey's cot, and saw the blankets ruffling violently with Grey jumping out of bed as easily as if he wasn't even asleep to begin with, pressing off on the alarm on his scroll. He didn't even know Weiss and Ruby were awake until he looked up and saw them staring at him.

"Uh… hi," he stammered.

"Hey," they greeted him unblinkingly.

"What are you guys doing up?" he asked, his voice groggy despite appearing so energized. The huntresses glanced at each other before answering.

"Couldn't sleep," Weiss mentioned.

"What about you?" Ruby said, somewhat accusingly.

"I…" Grey hesitated, his eyes growing dull and glassy as he tried to come up with an answer, "Had to go to the bathroom. So… G'morning."

With that, he hurried out of the room, carrying a tote bag over his shoulder. They didn't see it right away, but as he fled from the dorm, the girls caught that he had slept in his gym clothes instead of his pajamas. Weiss and Ruby gave one more look to each other suspiciously.

"He's lying, right?" Ruby asked somewhat rhetorically.

"Obviously," Weiss agreed.

"So, are we going to follow him?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, obviously!" Weiss declared.

As quietly as they could so they wouldn't wake up the other members of the team, Blake probably already having woken up and refusing to acknowledge them so she could hopefully get another few hours of rest, they grabbed their weapons. Neither of them bothered to try getting dressed. Grey was too fast for them to waste any time putting on anything other than their shoes, and after sheathing their weapons at their waists, they dashed out of the room. Gym clothes, a gym bag, and no weapons? This wasn't a mission for Ozpin that Grey was being sent on, nor was he heading out to the city. He was training. Why he was training so early in the morning, neither of the girls could guess, but they still wanted to find him. If he had just said he was training, or admitted whatever he was doing, they wouldn't be chasing him, but if he was so willing to lie about it, and lie as badly as he did, then they had no choice but to run him down. They weren't sure if they should be angry or worried. All they needed to do was find him.

Fortunately, Grey was easy to follow since he didn't bother leaving a trail or picking up his pace, and he was too tired to pick up Weiss's and Ruby's energy signatures behind him, so he didn't know he was being followed. Keeping an even pace behind him, the girls still made sure they had cover just to be safe. Every time he turned the corner, they would disappear behind the wall, and whenever there was an alcove in the wall they could hide inside, they would take the opportunity for what it was. It wasn't very long until Grey was walking into the training arena, donning his gauntlets before he walked through the doors.

"Ah! There you are Grey!" Came a familiar voice from inside, "Good morning!"

"It's three o'clock, Ozpin," Grey grumbled, "As far as I'm concerned, it's not morning yet."

The pair of stalkers shared a confused but intrigued look, then snuck their way up into the stands to spy on the two. They knew Ozpin had probably already picked up on their presence, but they both assumed and hoped he wouldn't call them out since he enjoyed their drama like a bad sitcom.

"In any case," Ozpin dismissed Grey's sleepiness, "How are you feeling today?"

"If I'm being perfectly honest with you," Grey admitted, stretching his arms, "I'm doing better. I'm still in enormous amounts of pain, but these sessions have definitely helped."

"He's in pain?" Ruby muttered to herself.

"I feel absolutely horrible now," Weiss simpered, "We've been complaining all this time about his attitude and not letting us touch him, and it turns out he's been injured?"

"I'm more upset that he didn't tell us," Ruby grumbled, angrier than Weiss felt comfortable with. Weiss looked at her bemusedly.

"Maybe this goes beyond physical pain, Ruby," Weiss offered, trying to give Grey the benefit of the doubt so Ruby wouldn't be so angry with him, "Let's keep watching, OK?" Reluctantly, Ruby agreed. If he was physically injured, then it was his responsibility to tell his teammates about it so they could plan accordingly, but hiding emotional and mental pain was at least somewhat understandable.

"I meant about your situation on Team RWBY," Ozpin clarified, stepping around Grey who faltered in his stretching for a second before dropping to the floor to continue his warm up on his legs.

"Sensei, I would tell you how I'm doing with that, if I only knew how to handle the situation," Grey responded.

"That wasn't what I was asking," Ozpin shot, turning directly to his protege, "I was asking how you were handling this, not how you were going to resolve it." Ruby's and Weiss's breath caught in their throats. This was more than they had bargained for when they followed their mutual crush.

"There is no doubt how I feel about those two," Grey said after a bit of thought and a dirty look shot towards his master, the answer itself making the eavesdroppers begin to slightly hyperventilate, "It isn't any question that I'm mad about both of them, but that's just it- I'm mad about both of them."

"And that is a problem because…?" Ozpin muled, Weiss and Ruby taking a noticeable step away from each other.

"I'm from Mistral," Grey explained, jumping onto his feet and shadow boxing, "Polygamy isn't exactly accepted there. The faulty leadership- no offense-"

"None taken," Ozpin intercepted, being a representative of said leadership.

"-doesn't really accept that kind of lifestyle. Being the largest criminal empire in the world, the council takes its role a bit too seriously at times, and views anything even remotely group oriented, or against social norms, as being an act of defiance against their laws. Not to get political or anything, but I consider the Mistral Government to be the largest criminal organization in the kingdom because they never follow the letter of the law like they're supposed to. They only ever follow the spirit of the law which is their way of saying 'we can do whatever we want, and you're just going to have to deal with it. They're a dystopian, Orwellian, totalitarian nightmare. That might be jumping the gun a little bit, but faunus rights aside, not even human rights are exactly high on their list of priorities. If they believe something has any chance of becoming criminal, they will persecute it. No exceptions. As far as polygamy goes, it took one member of the White Fang who had four wives to get in trouble, and it ruined the system for everyone else." Ozpin nodded, allowing the explanation to sink in before speaking.

"But what exactly does this have to do with Ruby and Weiss?" Ozpin noted.

"Tell me," Ruby grumbled to herself, and Weiss found herself agreeing.

"Please," she whispered like a balloon slowly letting out air.

"By itself, absolutely nothing," Grey proclaimed, making everyone furrow their brow, "The Mistral Government was corrupt at best, and totalitarian at worst, so with my parents actually falling in love with more than one person, but with the threat of execution looming over their heads, it weighed on them. Eventually, the love my moms had for my dad, and the love he had for them, gave way to paranoia, which ended up in Mama Ryokellia and Mom Arsen arguing in public where they didn't know they were being observed, and then followed back home where my dad was waiting with dinner, my two sisters, and myself."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Ozpin admitted. Grey scoffed tiredly. He wasn't trying to get into a story of his childhood, but with how little sleep he had, a proper explanation was eluding him.

"Imagine hiding behind enemy lines. You can never sleep in the same place twice, you always have to cover your tracks, you're always looking over your shoulder, and this can make a group incredibly touchy," Grey regaled sourly, "I was too young to understand it at the time. As far as I was concerned, polygamous relationships were normally very conflictual. I didn't realize until much later that they were always fighting because they were worried about getting arrested by our fascist dictatorship all because they wanted to live together." Ozpin stepped a bit closer to his apprentice and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder fatherly.

"Grey, are you hiding something from me? Or rather, from your team?" he asked kindly, "You're much too stubborn to allow someone else's bad experience to prevent you from having your own. That can't be the end of the story."

Grey shrugged Ozpin's hand off of his shoulder and walked away, his back turned to the headmaster. Ozpin patiently waited for a response. As Grey paced a few feet towards the door, facing away from the man who had trained him for most of the year, he wiped his dry eyes, feeling as if tears he had shed long ago would resurface if they hadn't been dried up.

"That's when I realized just how deadly Black Steele could be," he finally revealed, "Rouge had been training me to control him for weeks until my moms got us caught and led the police to our refuge, and while they fought tooth and nail to try to protect me and my sisters, I had the bright idea to hide instead of run like they told me to. When I saw my parents were losing the fight, Black Steele decided to make his debut. The only problem was that I wasn't really able to control him at the time, and… let's just say it wasn't a capital punishment that killed my parents, or Rouge."

"So, if I'm understanding you correctly-" Ozpin tried, but Grey interrupted.

"I relate polygamy to Black Steele and the deaths of my family," he spat, "And I'm not exactly willing to get Weiss or Ruby involved in that. Mentally, I know that Black Steele had nothing to do with my parent's deteriorating marriage, or Black killing them and Rouge, but after finding myself in a similar scenario, it's… not as easy as I'd like it to be. No matter how much I try to tell myself that it wasn't my fault, instinctively, the guilt is still there, so I've been avoiding them for awhile. It's not like I wouldn't be willing to try dating both of them, as long as they consent to it and were aware what was going on between the three of us, but I don't want them being subject to my personal baggage. That's even if they would both be OK with sharing me."

"Part of the reason I've been training you is so you could control Black Steele, Grey. That, and how creating the proper mindset can help you defeat any obstacle you face," Ozpin announced, tapping his cane on the floor, making ebony blocks of metal shoot up from the floorboards and circle around the arena, "Now, show me how far you've come, Mr. Arsen. Show me Black Steele!"

Finally ready for combat, Grey and Ozpin shared a smirk, albeit for different reasons, and Grey focused his energy. With a trite scream, he released it. The hot wind that signified his transformed energy, the trademark of his conjured power, flung itself across the room more powerfully than anyone had ever felt it, blasting Weiss and Ruby's face warmly even from the distance they were at. His fists at his sides, Black looked up at his teacher. His eyes were red as blood, his pupil slit like a viper's, and around his irises were fields of abyssal obsidian, signifying that the transformation had been completed. The eyes seemed a bit overkill, though. He still had that red glow burning around him, and his hair was floating like the gravity surrounding him was breaking apart.

"Interesting," Ozpin examined, stepping around Black who stood in his place, "No burn marks this time, and the Turn took less than a second. How did you manage to perfect it?"

 **"I've figured out a way to perfectly fuse mine and Black's energy to become a unified soul,"** Black/Grey nonchalantly examined his gauntlets as he explained, **"In the past, Black would overtake my body when I was in a weakened state, either when my aura had been depleted, or if a powerful enough negative emotion blinded me to the point where he would find it as an opening to do some damage since I couldn't focus on holding him back. After the grimm invasion in Beacon awhile ago, after Weiss and Ruby were murdered in cold blood, I remembered how I empty I felt at the time until Black not only filled my aura, but my mind, body, and soul. It was… comforting. When I found myself at rock bottom, he came to greet me, and gave me a chance at revenge."** Black smiled at that, warmed by the memory, but his grin seeming malicious and bloodthirsty as he began shadow boxing.

 **"After that,"** he continued, **"channeling him became easy, but it was still incomplete. I didn't perfect the Turn until I began looking more at what had allowed me to summon him in the first place when I was fighting the hunter, and I realized that Black wasn't a tool. I couldn't use him like Animus and Albatross by taking his energy as I pleased. If he wanted to help me, he would, so if I needed him, I would have to ask him for help, and he would willingly grant it to me. The only thing I had to do was empty my mind again. Essentially, I kill off my humanity temporarily so he can work his magic. What's made the Turn as strong as it is now is that he and I can work together if I give him the choice to. If I force him to help me, or if he has to possess me on his own, then the Turn would be unstable at best, or worthless at worst."**

"Fascinating," Ozpin admitted, examining Grey's new presence excitedly, "And yet, I still can't figure out how this works. As far as I can tell, your semblance stops at your shields."

 **"As far as I'm concerned,"** Black mocked, **"That's all my semblance is. Black Steele isn't a raw, uncontrollable mass of personified energy, Ozpin. I may not know what he truly is, but I can tell you that he isn't a semblance."** Ozpin seemed to frown slightly. His composure wasn't often lost; not unless something didn't go according to plan, or had caught him off guard which was incredibly rare. Black's shoulders tensed when he caught the blocks spinning around the arena pick up speed.

"Only one question remains before we begin," he asked importantly, pushing his glasses up, and getting a tilt of the head from Black, "Are you happy?" Black's face twitched.

 **"What kind of question is that?"** he snarled.

"It's meant exactly as it sounds," Ozpin reiterated, "Are you happy?"

 **"Incredibly,"** Black snapped, shooting a target that jumped into the air at a nod from Ozpin. Black narrowed his eyes and growled lowly and slowly, **"So, I guess we started…"**

"Are you sure?" Ozpin continued to pester his trainee. He was clearly trying to get something out of Black, but could tell that asking him directly wasn't going to get him anywhere. He needed a distraction. He needed to piss Black off.

 **"Nothing is bothering me!"** Black repeated, striking down everything Ozpin threw at him with a single punch, but not getting a moment to do anything other than defend himself from the metallic cubes, **"Stop asking!"**

"We've been doing this for months, Black. Don't pretend I will be satisfied with such an empty excuse," Ozpin spat, "Can you really say you have no worries? Not even after watching Miss Rose and Miss Schnee die by the hands of an unbeatable enemy?"

 **"Leave them out of this!"** Black demanded, throwing a wave of destructive force towards his teacher, but his attack never made it. Ozpin retaliated by tossing his own wave of metal at the attack, blocking it and cancelling both of them out.

"Should I?" he replied with a raised eyebrow, "And who is going to stop me? If you couldn't defeat a single enemy, what could you do against one who can defeat hundreds? You could do nothing to stop me, just as you couldn't save them."

 **"Shut up!"** Black snarled at him, ignoring his onslaught and trying to find any way he could to break free from his cage and snap his teacher like a twig.

"You couldn't save them because you're weak!"

Black let off a scream like a nuclear missile, blasting his energy through the air and destroying everything in his wake, leaving not only a scorch mark into the floor beneath him, but a deep crater, the wood caving in on itself every second. Against the crystal glass surrounding the training arena, the aura wasn't able to break through, but still, Weiss and Ruby were so terrified by the inferno before them, the flame coming with so pressure that the glass began to crack, that they hurriedly jumped to top row of seats. Black's physical form was completely masked by the blood red flame he was creating. It wasn't until his screaming stopped that the crimson gust died away to reveal a weakened Grey on his knees, that saturation in his person decoloring his entire body to his namesake. He was bent over on all fours with his face buried into the ground. Ozpin stood over him, having by some ungodly miracle or some mystical power been able to survive.

"It's OK to be hurt, Grey," Ozpin said soothingly, "No one can go through what you did without it breaking them in someway. Please, let your team help you."

With Grey unable to move, Ozpin directed his staff to the ashes and telekinetically directed them through the air and into several trash cans to be disposed of in the morning.

"I think we're done for the day," Ozpin decided, stepping around him with a disappointed frown, then glancing up to where Weiss and Ruby were hiding, a joyful smile returning to his face, "I suppose you three have a lot to talk about, don't you? Why don't you come down here and help him?"

"How did you know we were hiding?" Ruby whined sadly.

"Oh, please, I haven't been around as long as I have and not picked up a thing or two," he teased, "And I do believe chamomile helps with training the mind to use such a skill. I think I'll go have some. But before I go..." he gave the two a serious look, "Don't be too mad at him. Death is a very serious issue. Not many people come back from what you both experienced. I'm not saying you should hide how you truly feel from him, but please. This is a much more serious issue than anything else you three might have going on." He gave them a wink. Evidently, even the teachers knew about their romantic tension.

With that, Ozpin exited the room, Weiss and Ruby feeling like they were just shot between the eyes at his last words. As soon as he was out of sight, Weiss and Ruby charged Grey's unmoving, cradled form, and lifted him back onto his feet, helping him hobble over to a bench. His limbs were limp and heavy, nearly knocking Weiss off of her feet until Ruby got his other side. His eyes looked half dead, and his hair was pale and unhealthy. Even worse in their mind was that Grey's gaze was frozen into the ground, unwilling to meet that of his two friends, even after they set him down and made him down an entire bottle of water. After a few minutes of silence, the color began to come back to his face.

He still wasn't looking up. Even after his body returned to a healthier color, a crackle of his normal silver energy twisting around his arms to show his aura was repairing itself, he wouldn't say a word. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, he threw his head back and groaned loudly. He didn't stop until he was out of breath.

"I guess I can't hide it anymore, can I?" he asked.

"Nope," Ruby said succinctly.

"I'm honestly surprised we've put up with it for this long," Weiss scolded, crossing her arms, then looking at him out of the corner of one eye and taking his hand tightly, "Please don't hide something like this from us anymore." Ruby followed this up by wrapping both of her arms around the one on her side, her fingers linking with his loosely during the motion.

"You watched us die, Grey," she finally, verbally admitted, "That would take a strain on anyone, especially when we turned out not to really be dead. Why did you pretend this wasn't hurting you?" Grey's smile was tight and sad when he answered. He figured they were going to talk about his feelings for them, but Black's outburst must have changed their minds.

"I didn't want to stress you guys out," he croaked, "I figured that since Yang, Blake, and everyone else was taking it so well, I didn't really have much of a choice than to put on a brave face for you. I figured continuing to be sad would have been selfish."

"Grey!" Weiss gasped appalled, slapping his shoulder sharply, "You can't really be serious about that. When you're hurt by something, or you're happy, or jealous, or whatever, it doesn't matter. No matter what you're feeling, no one can tell you that your feelings or selfish or that they don't matter or that their pain is worse than yours because you're still feeling it. So what if other people are handling it better? It doesn't mean you're doing the same." She tightened her hand around his. "You have a right to your own feelings, and no one can tell you otherwise."

"Wow, Weiss," Ruby applauded, "That was surprisingly profound."

"Yeah, whatever," she dismissed, "You know how my father was growing up. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I picked that up. Seriously, the stuff I had to tell myself growing up… ugh." Weiss shook her head, annoyed at her memories, smiling lightly while Ruby and Grey chuckled at her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. After the morning they had, there was no way either of them were going back to sleep, so there was really nothing else to do than to wait for the sun to poke over the horizon. Grey would like to think he was enjoying their company, but something was off. As Weiss cleaned her nails and tried to put her hair up in a nice ponytail, having set Myrtenaster at her feet and straightening out her nightgown, Grey could sense that Ruby was holding something back. Frowning, he glanced at her.

"Ru?" he asked, "Are you OK?" She shook her head, and when she spoke, her voice cracked.

"Yang wasn't fine…" she started, and Weiss and Grey turned to her worriedly as she explained, "After my mom died, Yang was all I had. Uncle Qrow wasn't around and my dad was too broken to try to raise his daughters, so Yang had to pick up their slack and take over where mom left off. It was really tough on her. Most six year old girls don't end up becoming moms at that age. When I died, it hit her really hard and…" Ruby sniffled, taking a deep breath, "When I woke up, she told me that she didn't… that she didn't feel like she had anything to live for anymore." She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ruby…" Weiss tried, but didn't know where to begin to try to comfort her. Ruby had been so good at it with her only a few hours ago, so why couldn't Weiss do the same for her? She owed her that much.

"I just…" Ruby stuttered, "I know that people deal with this kind of stuff in different ways, but hearing you say that you were trying to make sure we were OK, and not thinking about yourself after hearing what my sister went through… It hurts." Suddenly, Ruby gasped when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her.

"I'm so sorry, Ruby," Grey growled, struggling to get the words out through his gritted teeth as he hugged her, burying his face in her hair, "I didn't even… I don't… I should have at least let you know…"

Grey couldn't figure out the words he wanted to use to express how sorry he was. He didn't even know why he felt the need to say anything at all, or why he was feeling like such an idiot. When Ruby said he hurt her, it broke something in him. She was his best friend, and hearing her say that he betrayed her trust that way poisoned him at his very core. He wanted her to know how much he cared about her and how he wasn't aware of how much of an idiot he was being, but since he couldn't use his words properly, he settled on something simpler instead.

"Do you think you can forgive me?" He asked. It may have been the tight, high pitched whine that came along with his plea, or it may have been the way his heart was pounding erratically against his chest, bouncing off of her own that sent that wave of calm crawling over Ruby's body, but only the briefest pause passed before she returned the hug he had her in.

"Of course, I can," she soothed him, "Dolt…"

"That's my line, Ruby," Weiss said off to the side, her arms crossed loosely and one hand propping her chin up with a smile, reluctant to admit that she admired the pair, "And even I have to say that you two are surprisingly cute together."

Breaking apart from the hug, Ruby giggled and stuck her tongue out at her friend, holding up a peace sign while her crush jumped onto his feet. A blush burnt against his face. Weiss was sincerely compliment Ruby and Grey as a cute couple? And Ruby accepted it? What had happened to those two? Seeing the girls prance a few feet away and begin whispering to each other, smirks on their lips as both pairs of eyes trained on him, Grey couldn't help but smile at them. There was no longer any animosity in them. They had gotten to the point where Grey could truly consider them real friends, and it only took their own hellishly painful deaths to do it. He hoped it wouldn't take a battle and huge death toll to fix any major problem they would have in the future.

Granted, this was a double edged sword. When they were yelling at each other it was one thing, but now he felt undeniably uncomfortable with them. If a man sees two girls whispering to each other and laughing while looking in his direction, he knows they were talking about him and that he probably did something stupid. Girls had a strange power over men that way. A single look could completely alter a man's mindset due to the anxiety it filled him with. It was a strange enough power that he brought up the second topic they needed to talk about, what in his mind was more important, out of fear more than anything else.

"So, if I remember correctly, there was one more thing we should probably settle tonight," Grey said in a slight panic that got the attention of the girls.

"Oh? And just what might that be?" Weiss mused, prissily returning to her seat with her hands under her to smooth out her skirt.

"This sounds so interesting," Ruby declared, sitting next to Weiss with just enough space in between them for one other person to join them, then patting that spot while she and Weiss shot a venomous grin at Grey. He was sure they would eat him alive. Gulping, he sat in between them and stared off into the distance. His breathing had become shallow and his pulse raced. Honestly, this second conversation was going to be much more gut wrenching than the last.

"Since we're currently in the practice of pushing me to my emotional limits, I want to get something off my chest that I know you heard Ozpin and I talking about," Grey stated, rubbing his thighs tightly in fear, "And to be perfectly honest, I'd rather talk about it now than worry about when and if you guys were going to mention something about it."

Weiss and Ruby both froze when he said this, becoming stiff as a board at the implication. He wasn't really bringing this up now, was he? After that last terrible conversation? Wait, what was he even going to say? Was he about to confess his feelings for them? Sure, Black had told Ozpin how he felt about them, but did that mean Grey felt the same? Did they share those feelings? Hearing him say it to someone else was one thing, but if he was about to tell them directly how he felt… Oh, dear God, they weren't ready!

"So… I don't think I can hide it from you anymore," he said with his mouth dry as cotton, "I don't know if I was exactly clear before when I was channeling Black, or if you completely understood me, or some other third thing, but I want to be very clear with you guys now, and I don't want to split hairs with you about it. I spent my afternoon using my silver tongue to get Pyrrha and Jaune together, and after Ozpin kicked my butt, I seriously don't have the energy to be anything other than direct with you."

"OK…" Weiss and Ruby said simultaneously. Ruby was twitching constantly, unable to sit still and reaching up to her face, covering her mouth, swinging her legs on the seat and unable to get comfortable, while Weiss simply stomped her feet in anticipation, sitting upright. This was the moment. Now, they would figure out if there was any hope for them at all, or if the past semester had been completely wasted pining after someone who they couldn't have, who didn't want them. Their stomach was twisting in knots.

Grey took a deep breath. After they kissed him, he knew damn well how they felt about him, but verbally expressing his affection for them for the first time had him feeling like throwing up. The words were stuck in his throat but they desperately wanted to come out. When he finally spoke them, it felt like the world had stilled and all of reality froze to accommodate their conversation.

"I like you," he admitted, practically heaving out the words, "I like both of you. I'm completely crazy about you. There is not a single word in any language to describe my feelings for you. There is no number that has ever been measured that can approach how much I care about you. You guys are just…"

He finished his statement and laughed. He wanted to keep going, but he was bad with emotional confessions on a normal day, so after having expressed them so deeply in the past hour, his words had run dry. He prayed he was clear with them.

"Wait…" Ruby breathed, making Grey cringed at the oncoming tirade, "So, you actually do have a crush on me?!" Her words came out as a squeal, her arms shaking as the girl flailed on the ground, screaming all sorts of verbal euphoria. Grey raised his eyebrow at her, taking in a breath he was holding out of relief. She actually fell on the floor out of excitement.

"Oh my God…" Weiss mutter next to him, her face red and her eyes watery as she tried to steady her excited breathing, her hand on her beating chest, "He actually likes me… he really… he really does like me…"

Grey blinked at the scene before him. One girl next to him having her own personal earthquake, and the other being swept up in her own vortex of hyperventilation. _Fun,_ he thought. He wasn't even entirely sure that they were aware of his existence anymore, being lost in satisfaction, so he stood up and watched them silently, sipping on a second water bottle. He wasn't sure if he was proud of this mess he had created, or deeply concerned. Either way, the one thing that he was completely positive about was that no matter how you looked at it, he was the one that did this to them. At least he could tell they liked him back, which was satisfying.

Then, they turned on him. Their eyes flashed at him with a deep shade of either affection or loathing, or possibly both. That's when they charged him. If Grey said he didn't scream when that happened, he would have been lying to himself, and if anyone asked, there would be no point in trying to hide that. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, two beautiful demons glaring down at him.

"What do you mean you like both of us?!" they both demanded simultaneously.

"And there it is," Grey gulped, "That's what I was worried about."

They pulled him onto his feet, yanking him by the collar. He figured he had gotten off lucky when they didn't throw him against the wall, but those judgy looks still made his skin crawl. He probably would have preferred getting burned alive. Quickly, they patted him down, wiping off his clothes from the dirt and grime from the training he had gone through, and then turned to him with their arms crossed.

"So, you like both of us," Weiss stated the obvious.

"And I am prepared for what's about to follow," Grey proclaimed casually.

"And what's about to follow?" she asked, Ruby giggling like an idiot off to the side.

"Either you're going to roast me, freeze me, then electrocute me in that specific order and bury my dessicated body in a ditch somewhere, or you're going to completely let this slide and we never speak of it again. Or something in between," Grey crossed his arms and smirked, knowing he was in trouble no matter how he looked at it, so instead of doing what any rational person may have done and remaining silent, choosing instead to dig this hole even deeper, "And I'm thinking there's maybe a one percent chance that I could get lucky in the next few minutes. I'm just waiting to find out which of those is true."

Weiss's face began to burn so hot that steam billowed from her hair, making her tighten up in a cute pose with her hands stamped at her sides and legs pressed together. She couldn't believe that Grey would be so bold right now. She was even cracking from that pressure so easily! Ruby, on the other hand, continued to cackle at her side. Unlike Weiss, the younger huntress thought this was funny, and didn't at all seem put off by the fact that Grey wasn't committed to either one of them. Turns out, Ruby didn't really care about that. Instead, she leaned against his chest and gave him a suave, deep kiss before breaking away and grinning. Weiss shrieked. She only broke the kiss, though. Ruby's hands were still pressed against Grey's chest, one leg pushing its way in between his own.

"Don't worry," she said comfortingly, "We'll figure this out in the morning. You've been working too hard and need a break, so get some real sleep, OK? We'll talk to Ozpin and see if we can get you an excuse letter for classes tomorrow. See you up in the dorm, OK? Good night!"

With that, she ran off. From Weiss's point of view, it looked like she was running from her problems, partially bouncing up and down the halls as she did so, unable to comprehend that this really didn't matter to her. Looking back as she opened the door to the arena, and waving as she ducked out.

Weiss couldn't move. Her face was stuck open in a scream, and her face was twitching. Grey couldn't tell if this was because she was so caught off guard by Ruby seeing a chance and taking full advantage of it, or by the sheer absurdity of this whole situation. Both? Probably both. Suddenly, Grey had an idea.

"Don't hate me, Weiss," he sighed.

"I won't hate you for Ruby kissing you," she said, her eyes closed and taking a shaky, mildly angry breath, "She's right, though. It's time we went back to the dorm and got some sleep before classes start, and we'll try to get you excused at least from the morning classes. You need a break. As for what happens now between the three of us… We'll see." Grey nodded, pouting confidently as he let that sink in.

"That wasn't what I was referring to," he declared.

"Then what are you-" Weiss began chiding him, but her voice caught in her throat when she felt his hands around her waist, his lips pressing against hers. She saw it when it happened. He was quick enough to surprise her, but not quick enough so she wouldn't be able to see him leaning into her, his eyes softly closing until their lips connected in a tender caress. She could have denied him. However, instead of kneeing him in the groin or running off, she pushed into him, pulling him towards her with her arms wrapped around his neck, standing on her toes.

Grey noticed the difference. It wasn't a matter of who was better or worse, but that Ruby's kisses were quick yet passionate, and Weiss's were slow and gentle. He could get addicted to that stuff.

They pulled away from each other with a breathy moan. He pressed his forehead against hers, refusing to let her get out of his embrace. For Weiss, if it were able, she would have melted into him even more. Silently, they stared in awe at one another, not speaking, not moving, and hardly even breathing so they wouldn't ruin their moment. Unfortunately, Grey had one last thing he needed to get out before he did anything else.

"And you're sure you're OK with this…" he struggled to find the right word, "Brouhaha?" Weiss tried to restrain her giggle before she was able to give him a real answer.

"You mean sharing you with Ruby for the time being while you try to figure out where you would like things to go with us in the future?" she clarified somewhat sarcastically, "Honestly, it's not ideal, but for you, I can wait."

Grey laughed quietly at that. Pressing his forehead against Weiss's once more, returning to the warm passion that brought them together the first time and realizing that if Weiss, of all people, was willing to put up with this tragic comedy, then he wouldn't let that patience be for nothing. Nuzzling her hair affectionately, he understood why people enjoyed this type of relationship.

"So… I'm going to stay with Team JNPR tonight," Grey said, breaking the warm calm.

"Sounds like a good idea," Weiss hurriedly shot back, bouncing off of him and smoothing her skirt.

Grey gave her one last wink and rushed off. Weiss stood where she was as she watched him go, the phrase "hate to see you go, love to watch you leave" coming to her mind as he ducked away. Before he disappeared behind the door, though, he gave her one last look. Rather amorously, he was sporting a goofy smile, and maybe a small chuckle that she couldn't quite hear from where she was, and ran off.

She waited one second… then two… and then she just couldn't hold her excitement. Weiss screamed to high heaven. He actually liked her.

 **(A/N) I can't believe Act 2 is finally over. Remaining individual chapters aside, this story is 2/5ths over! I've spent roughly one year working on this, and to see it working its way towards completion the way it is is just… amazing.**

 **Anyway, this chapter took me FOREVER to get right. I told you in the first Act that Act 2 would be primarily about Red Ivory became a thing, and after months of outlining the plot, figuring out the major and minor details and working out the kinks, not to mention actually writing and editing the chapter itself, I finally figured out how I wanted to do it. Yes, I know they're not actually TOGETHER together, as Nora so eloquently puts it, but the fact that this Act ended with a confession and not the beginnings of a real relationship is going to be much better in the long run. I know some might disagree with me, but you have to remember this is the second Act out of five. We still have three Acts to go.**

 **If you want to figure out why this is better to the plot and the overall storytelling than the alternative, then… well, at this point, if I had to tell you to keep reading, you probably didn't make it to this chapter. To those people, I say "pity." They're missing out on something great.**

 **As always, leave your theories, comments, criticisms, praises, flames, and spam in the reviews. It's not like I'm not accepting feedback. I'll see you glorious creatures in the premiere of Act 3! Tune in next month.**


	15. Act 3, Chapter 1

**(A/N) Here it is! The beginning of Act 3, the largest Act, and where the brunt of the story will really take place. Prepare for a lot of plot, and a lot of fluff, and a lot of action over the majority of the next year, and maybe longer. Really, I can't tell you how long this one is going to be. I've got the plot all prepared and all that monkey nuts, but the actual structure of the chapters themselves is going to take a bit of work to organize properly.**

 **Sorry for this being late. I don't like making excuses for that, but I'm going to blame various hospital visits for this one. I'm fine now, believe me.**

 **Also, you remember how, more than once, I would post a chapter and say "I've been waiting to post this one"? Same goes for this debut, both because of what will occur in Act 3 and how this chapter will set all that up, and because this chapter brings in one of my favorite characters from the anime. Just… MY FAVORITE BEAN CHILD is all I can really say about this one.**

 **Lastly… Volume 5 is… upsetting me. Yeah. Let's put it that way. To be fair, I did like the ending, but I'm curious how Volume 6 is going to answer some of the questions I have for it. If nothing else, it's kind of annoying how I now have to work certain things in War of OA around Volume 5.**

 **My murderous fury aside, enjoy this next Act, my Beautiful Hunters!**

Act 3

Chapter 1

The barista had a weird look about her, and not just because she spoke only with paper signs she had prepared for her work shift. Stuff like "I'm mute" and "How can I help you today" made up her usual speech pattern, or lack thereof, but what really caught Grey's eye as he did his combat engineering homework was her heterochromia. Her eyes were different colors, and odd ones at that. Brown was a very common shade for both humans and faunus, sure, but pink?

With his attention turned to her, however, Grey found something else about this woman that had the gears in his head turning. She was tall, busty, beautiful, and had the most luxuriously blonde hair that only the gods and one single human on Remnant could maintain, and that person was Yang. In fact, despite the eyes, the mute speech, and the fact that the barista clearly didn't recognize him, even Ruby would have mistaken the two. The two looked exactly the same, even having an almost identical energy. Grey had been trying to do his homework in peace with Penny and enjoy some good coffee, but this sudden intervention had sent up a few red flags in his mind.

"Are you feeling OK, Mr. Grey?" Penny asked her friend, shaking him out of his reverie, "You have been staring at that waitress since we arrived." Grey sputtered and buried his face in his papers, trying to ignore the giggly stares Penny's lack of volume control had received, one of those gleeful looks being from Yang's clone. For the doppelganger, though, that smile was nothing less than wicked. A chill running down his spine, Grey rolled his eyes and smiled up at his friend once he regained his composure.

"How many times have I told you to call me Grey, Pen-Pen?" he said with a smile, tapping on the top of her hand with the stylus he was using on his computer pad, "Just Grey. Not Mr. Grey. Not Master Grey. Not Our Lord and Savior Grey-Kun. Just Grey."

"Alright, 'Just Grey,'" Penny returned, sharing a laugh with her comrade, "But you are looking at that waitress like she stole your danish. Do you know her?"

Grey raised his eyebrow and glanced up at the woman in question at that statement, knowing that the target heard Penny again. It was probably her disguise that made him unable to sense the change in her energy signature and emotion, the aura it took to create such a mask being more powerful than any emotion could be, but he still had an eye for body language and was able to tell by the way her jaw tensed up that this conversation was more uncomfortable for her than she was trying to show. She wasn't meeting Grey's eyes this time. Even that smirk that made her look like she captured flies and shook them until they died wasn't ripping her cheeks open.

"Not a clue," Grey admitted as a half truth, leaving out his primary suspicions. He leaned back into his chair with his eyes closed, taking a sip of his coffee and putting on an air of relaxed ease, of indifference and apathy to the barista.

"So, you're not at all disturbed that she looks exactly like Yang?" Penny continued.

Grey sighed disappointedly. Granted, Penny didn't have the best track record with picking up on subtle social cues like the man's "I don't want to talk about this" attitude, so that was on him, but now that the synthetic lifeform had made his suspicions known without even realizing it, he had to deal with it. He dreaded this type of scenario. It was better to avoid a problem altogether than deal with one as it occurs.

The barista actually turning to look at him this time with a glare that was as sadistic as her grin was manic. The not so subtle reaction made Grey realize that whoever this huntress was, she really did know Yang, and that was problematic enough even without knowing who she was or how that meeting happened. He had considered the possibility that maybe this was just some cosmological accident that he was reading too much into. There was a chance, no matter how small, that the barista had rolled the dice in just the right way when trying to disguise herself as a busty blonde that she ended up cloning a real person, but that hope was dashed with that all too clear look she gave him. Grey turned to Penny with a harsh glare, telling her to shut up silently. This time, the robot had just enough sense to catch the message and nodded in understanding, shutting her mouth.

Sometimes Grey regretted confronting Ruby about Penny's peculiarities. He knew the two were close, but he wasn't expecting Ruby's lack of an ability to keep a secret to end up revealing the girl to be the modern version of Frankenstein. Dealing with an homunculus who had no sense of humanity despite being fully human was… difficult.

The pair ended up finishing their homework and leaving a few minutes later. The moon was beginning to rise, the sky dark as the streetlights began flickering to life as the students separated from one another, following their own paths for the night, and while Penny went back to her dorm at school, Grey had something he wanted to do. Feeling like the caped avenger the internet had come to know as the "Hunts-Man," he perched himself on a rooftop overlooking the coffee shop he just left. He had questions he wanted answers too, and he was going to get them. Unless Yang had a mute twin sister she never told him about, Grey knew that the odds lining up in just the right way for this girl to be nothing more than an innocent bystander that Grey had stumbled across were impossible. She was a huntsman, she knew Yang, and Grey wanted to know who she was.

"I hope you make good use of that tracking device, Just Grey," Penny texted him, using the pet name they had ended up distractedly agreeing on, "I don't have too many of those. If she finds it or if it breaks somehow, you're going to have to make sure you can follow her by eyesight alone since you can't sense her aura."

"Thanks again for this, Pen-Pen," Grey texted back, "I know you may get in trouble with you father for this, so I appreciate it. If you happen to get caught, just send him to Ozpin's office and put it on our tab. K?" A smiley emoji was sent back in response, and Grey amusedly shook his head before turning back to his target.

Every once in a while, humans will make a single, subtle decision that they will believe has no real impact. Why would it? Maybe they left for work five minutes earlier that morning, or maybe they had pineapples in their fruit salad instead of peaches, stuff like that. Either way, no one ever expects those boring, one off decisions to have any consequence. Grey's decision to sate his curiosity, however, was one of the few that would.

He watched the Yang clone step out of the building with two other people, one of whom locked the doors, and she made sure they got to their cars safely before walking off in the opposite direction. Her hair was up in a ponytail, her work makeup rubbed off, and the stress was apparent on her face once she clocked out. She even had that post-work day sigh. Pulling her phone out of her purse and pressing the buttons faster than any basic high school girl could ever wish to, she sent a few texts off to someone, smiling girlishly at the responses as she walked towards her destination, unaware she was being followed.

Hopefully she was unaware, anyway. Grey didn't want this to escalate into a fight, and considering that this was a huntress he was following, regardless of her day job, that fight would not end well for anyone within the closest city block.

Grey bounced from roof to roof, feeling like he was Batman one second and the Hulk the next, but paying more attention to the girl than his ego, hoping he could keep his eye on her and not bothering with the tracker, hoping that that would only be a contingency plan. She was going in an odd direction. So far, this agent was walking with the kind of purpose that said she knew where she was going and would not allow herself to be distracted, but the way she was heading wasn't towards any residential area. Currently, she was crawling her way through the docks, heading towards… Was that a White Fang flag on that warehouse? Grey cursed under his breath, realizing just how much crap he may be in now. He didn't think he would stumble on something this big.

It was made even worse when he remembered that the girl he was following was human at first glance. If she was faunus, however… No matter how you looked at it, huntsman were trained and tasked with keeping the world safe no matter who the enemy was, whether that meant an invasion of grimm all the way up to the council's of the different kingdoms, and that meant that the White Fang, a terrorist organization, was their enemy. Grey's first assumption was that this girl was a huntsman. If that wasn't true, if the disguise ability wasn't a semblance but a biological trait unique to a type of faunus, that would mean that there would be an entire group of people that could very easily infiltrate Beacon's ranks.

Maybe he got distracted himself because when Grey tried to find the girl after shaking himself from his thoughts, she had disappeared. Grey scowled. This wasn't an area with any cover for her to hide, so she couldn't have gotten too far, but being able to disappear so easily… Growling, he knew he had no choice other than to pull out his scroll and try to find her with the tracker, but when he figured out where the girl was, the previous suggestions he made to who this girl was started to make sense, the puzzle pieces coming together. In the place where the device was beeping on his radar was a wanted criminal Neopolitan, the woman Yang had told him attacked her on their mission in Forgotten Vale, his teammate's description of "human ice cream" hitting the nail on the head with her.

What was this about her disguise, though? According to Yang's description of their fight on the train, he couldn't see Neo's semblance being able to change her physical appearance, but even if it could, why would she choose to look like Yang? Because she was blonde and hot? Grey saved that question for later since he didn't feel it was important now.

Keeping his eye on her ice cream hair and classy victorian outfit, Grey pushed down his nerves and decided to follow her, knowing at this point that things might be a bit more serious than he had previously thought. She was part of a major crime syndicate, and according to all of Team RWBY, was the right hand of that syndicate's leader, Roman Torchwick. This was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. This unwitting woman was about to lead her right to her leader's hideout, hopefully, and if he could find the right opportunity, then he could take out one of Vale's biggest threats for no other reason than random coincidence- not to mention how he would appreciate finishing his fight with the gangster. Taking a swift breath and cracking his neck, he mentally prepped himself and charged.

As Neo entered the shipping area of the docks, the place Grey remembered fighting Torchwick and the White Fang a few months ago during Blake's faunus fiasco, Grey followed her by jumping from the tops of the containers. He wasn't surprised to see White Fang members keeping watch and quickly dispatched them as he continued to stalk the vertically challenged girl. After a bit, Neo walked into the largest warehouse in the area. Grey wasn't an idiot and knew that she had made it to her destination, so he wasn't in too much of a hurry to get in there, this event giving him time for a quick rest and to make a game plan.

The building was built with brick and other masonry, so it would give him plenty of footholds if he managed it right. If he used his claws and kicked off it properly… Then made it to the windows above for a bird's eye view…

Grey made it to the top of the building and took cover on one of the horizontal shutters, a White Fang member clawing at his jeans as Grey knelt on the guy's neck, completely ignoring him. The guy passed out with fear in his eyes, appalled at how casually Grey was crushing his larynx, but Grey was too distracted with the scene below him at ground level, a mild sense of unease burning through his stomach.

"Aw, you shouldn't have, Squirt!" Roman said as the girl lovingly handed him a gold plated watch, "Is this where you've been the past month? Stealing this?" Linking her fingers behind her back, a huge grin on her face while she danced on her feet, Neo shook her head. "What? You actually bought this? For real? Neo…"

Grey remembered her stopping into a jewelry store when he was following her to this destination. Is that what she was doing? What was going on here…?

Roman Torchwick, crime lord extraordinaire, actually looked human for a second as a brief expression of gratitude and loyalty passed over his face. Suddenly, he brought the silently giggling girl into him, wrapping his arms around his waist as he planted a stiff kiss against her lips. Grey nearly screamed in shock. These two were together? Villains could be happy and fall in love? Sure, the answer to that is obviously yes, but he didn't see someone like Torchwick, or a complete sociopath like Neo sharing a bed with someone they actually cared about. A hooker, maybe. A victim of human trafficking? Definitely. What he could never see is the man who robbed his grandfather's store being in a loving, committed relationship, even with a violent murderer.

"This is too weird," Grey decided, and used his shield to carry him away from the warehouse and back into the shipping area, leaving the White Fang member he knocked out on the shutter. This didn't end how he expected. It started with him following a random interest he had in a dubious barista, turned into an assassination mission from which Grey expected to walk away from in a blaze of absolute glory. He wasn't expecting to be so stunned at a scene of a hopeless romance that would make him give up on his goal.

He wasn't sure how to react to it. Arrest them? He was trained not to leave people breathing and didn't have the authority to take people into custody. Should he have even confronted them? Come to think of it, even if he had, what would that accomplish? Chances were they wouldn't have been willing to talk, and after he won that fight, assuming he could even beat that tag team in direct conflict, what would do afterwards? Kill them? Grey hated that he didn't really have an answer, and decided that he got too excited earlier, unaware until he saw the pair making out in the middle of a White Fang hideout that he was out of his league. This mission wasn't going to end in any way other than him walking away like he was.

Grey halted in his path when he saw the air in front of him shimmer like it was reflecting light, then shatter into a thousand glass shards, Neo herself walking out from them with a murderous glint in her eyes, her previous giddy smile replaced with a dangerous sneer. Grey didn't even raise his hands to defend himself. The girl was unarmed and wasn't even making to attack him, and not only that, but Grey couldn't sense anyone else in the vicinity, signifying that she had approached him alone unless she knew her semblance could partially block his aura sense. How did she know he was there? Did she hear him leaving? Did she know he was following her that whole time?

Eh, who cared? The answers to those questions didn't matter. Point was she was here and she wasn't looking for a fight despite the wicked look.

"Yo," Grey greeted.

Neo dipped her head, making Grey raise his eyebrow. Something about her seemed… odd.

"I'm assuming you're not here to kill me so… can I help you?" he asked.

Neo gave him an intense look, nodded up to the direction of where the warehouse was, then her face softened from a threatening stare to an almost pleading gaze. Grey furrowed his brow in confusion, and glanced over his shoulder at the building, then back at her.

"You mean… You and Torchwick?" Grey clarified. She nodded.

"And you… what? You're happy together and you don't want me to tell anyone about you guys?" Grey meant it as a joke, but Neo's eyes seemed to twinkle as she continued to stare at him.

"Seriously?" Grey reiterated incredulously.

Neo nodded even more vigorously this time. Grey couldn't believe what he was hearing, or rather what he was seeing since she hadn't spoken once since this one-sided conversation began. Grey pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Look, Neo," he started, not even bothering to try to explain or bluff how he knew her name, "If I'm being honest with you, I don't even know why I came here, and now that I know who you are and what's going on here, I do have something resembling a responsibility to report you guys to the authorities."

Neo would have growled if she could make any noise, judging by the way her lip curled, but flinching when Grey's voice and expression softened.

"But, I will admit, I'm kind of a hopeless romantic," he said with a gentle smile, "And I'm in a less than traditional relationship myself, so I can understand what it can be like trying to balance life in that regard. So… let's say that we combine those two details, and say that I may look the other way for love if given a good reason. Can you tell me one reason why I shouldn't report you to General Ironwood?"

Neo hopped excitedly, another grin splitting her cheeks, but in contrast to that excitement, she shook her head to Grey's question, making a few very specific gestures with her hands Grey couldn't comprehend. It wasn't until she nonverbally brought her hand up to her lips and expanded it outward that the young huntsman thought he understood.

"Oh, so you're mute?" he asked.

Neo nodded back to him. Grey crossed his arms and began thinking through what he was going to say so he could better communicate with the girl, but he realized it wasn't needed. Neo snapped his fingers to get his attention. When he looked up, he saw a gesture he hadn't seen in awhile. Leveling her eyes at him, Neo stepped up to him and poked his chest, swiping fingers over his sternum in an X pattern, then jumping back and disappearing in a flash of light, leaving him alone on the docks. Grey put his hand on his chest nostalgically, remembering the meaning of what she just did to him. It was an old gesture back in Mistral.

It meant "I owe you."

 _ **You're not really going to accept that are you?**_ Black asked him as Grey snagged a taxi to get back to the academy.

 _It's not like I have any other option at this point,_ Grey responded mentally so he wouldn't scare the driver by talking to himself out loud, _She disappeared when she gave me that promise, and you know how serious the X pattern is in Mistral. I can't go back on my word like that._

The X pattern was a gesture only used by the criminal underbelly in the most dangerous Kingdom on Remnant since the consequences for breaking the pattern meant death, either by one's own hand or by cosmological intervention. It wasn't a matter to be taken lightly.

 _ **You could always go back there and kill them all?**_ Black offered, _ **With my help, of course.**_

 _Possibly, but I'm not a death god like you are,_ Grey shot back with a smirk, I'm just violent. _Plus, she helped me realize something._

 _ **And that would be?**_ Black returned tiredly.

 _That if they can make it work, Red Ivory can. When we get back to the school, I have some work to do._

 **(...)**

Weekends are a time of relaxation and partying, sloth and debauchery. People would spend them going to the beach, dancing all night at a shady club, or for some quieter, more peaceful souls, catch up on the reading or other hobbies they had been neglecting. It only made sense. Classes were out, people who worked a normal nine to five didn't have to work, and most people didn't have anything to do other than enjoy themselves. Sometimes that would revolve around making grand spectacles and events for groups of people, maybe a random, extravagant party or charity event, while others would simply stay home in bed all day, eat junk food and veg out on video games all day. As for Grey, he had a date to catch.

He had just come back from a pleasant breakfast with Pyrrha who demanded to know more about his budding relationship with half of his team like a giddy school girl fawning over her favorite book characters. She was treating this like it was some kind of game, or worse, like Grey had treated her relationship with Jaune before they got together. Had everyone been waiting like this for Red Ivory to get together? It was ridiculous. When Yang and Blake joined the two, Grey realized just how deep this rabbit hole of a shipping war went.

Apparently, there was some sort of bet involved with those two? Even Ruby was put off after hearing that, but she, Grey, and Weiss would make sure the pair would get what was coming to them. They had promises they would have to keep. The first thing they would need to do would be to find the scissors…

To be perfectly fair, they weren't together yet. All that was made clear at this point was that Ruby had Weiss both had feelings for Grey, Grey had feelings for both of them, and now the partners had to compete for their crush's attention. Most people would have found this to be a less than ideal situation. Grey, on the other hand, considered himself crazy for even humoring such a dangerous threesome, but he had never been one to follow common sense. He was just lucky Weiss missed when she tried to castrate him for asking Ruby out first.

Throwing a few reps of shadow boxing in the middle of the dorm room, Grey felt good. A smile was emblazoned on his face as he had his whole day planned out, this excited energy fueling his every movement. His black blazer, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows with his left wrist bearing a silver watch, he padded against Yang's palms. She praised him for his attitude. Ever since that night that shall live on in glory in Team RWBY's history, the twilight in the gymnasium that made the most famous romance authors take notes, he was so much happier, and it showed in how strong he threw his punches, how fast he bobbed and weaved, and how his feet danced in a flurry of energy. He felt like he could take on the world.

"Jeez! Slow down, dude!" Yang scolded him when he uppercutted her hand so hard she stumbled into the desk behind her. He bounced on his toes lightly and threw a few more punches in the air. Even his straight fit jeans and slick black loafers, he made boxing look easy.

"What's the problem, Blondie? Can't keep up?" he teased, "Maybe you should take Blake up on her offer and cut your hair since it's obviously getting in the way." Yang's hair was in a bun right now. Her eyes turned red as her body blazed with flame, knowing that he was talking about her bet with Blake. Yang forgot. Grey being happier meant that his sass had taken a huge boost.

Blake, on the other hand, was giggling off in the corner silently as she peeked over her book at the two. She was waiting in sweet anticipation to see if he got what he deserved. The faunus still had the red handprint on her cheek last time she brought that up.

"What was that, Slut?" Yang shot back darkly. Grey blinked at her, an awkward and terrified smile striking against his features.

"I said… Um… yeah," Grey stammered, backing into the bathroom door, "Have you lost weight recently?" Yang smiled and crossed her arms, clearly unconvinced.

"Nice save, Lover Boy," she said flatly, then waltzed over to her teammate.

"What are you- oof!" Blake flinched cautiously when she saw her partner heading over to her, but then she grunted after the much more muscular and top heavy girl collapsed on top of her, "Yang, what are you doing?!"

"Lying in my bed. You?" she said coyly.

"Flattened underneath you!" Blake squealed.

"Like I told you- I'm lying in my bed," Yang said seductively, giving the goth girl a sly look behind a smirk and narrowed eyes. Grey's blush burned hard against his cheek, steam coming from his ears. Not only did Grey have a clear view of Yang's plump booty right in his face the way she laid on the bed, propping it up in her tight running shorts, but the blonde straddling the waist of another woman was… a little much.

"And I'm done here!" He announced. The pair promptly ignored him as they bickered over Yang's overly kittenish behavior, and he rushed himself into the bathroom, closing the door behind him and trying to steady his racing heart, nearly hyperventilating.

"Are they going at it again?" Weiss asked far too casually for her own good as she expertly put on her mascara, glancing at him from the mirror. Grey smiled warmly. Walking over to her, he surprised her when he laced his arms around her sides, forcing her reflexes to pull her brush away from her lashes lest she burn her eyes out.

"Hey there, Beautiful," he muttered to her dreamily, "You trying a new color on your lips today?" She blushed when he somehow noticed something so tiny like a slightly darker lipstick.

"Yes," she whimpered, then cleared her throat, "Do you like it?"

"Your lips are like two ripe cherries. So kissable." She giggled uncontrollably as he nibbled against her neck, brushing her pony tail out of the way, then giving the spot he bit a quick peck. That line was cheesy, but it was still sweet.

"Don't you have a date to get to?" she asked, reaching up and lightly running her nails against his cheek. Grey sighed and pulled her even closer to him, nuzzling the back of her neck.

"Yeah, I guess I should get going at this point, shouldn't I?" he mumbled.

"You don't want to keep her waiting," Weiss clarified, returning to her routine, "She might think I've been cheating in this little game of ours."

A wry smile and roll of his eyes later, and Grey pushed off of Weiss, leaving her to continue whatever it is she does in the morning. Part of him wanted to stay with her, if he was being honest. At the same time, Grey was also too excited for his first real date with Ruby to remain in that bathroom any longer, and was ready to meet up with the team leader. However, he did have one more thing he wanted to say to the princess before he left. It had been bugging him for awhile. It wasn't some kind of major secret he had been hiding for her, but he was something he had been dying to tell her for a few days now. No telling why he didn't do it sooner.

"Hey, Snow Bunny?" he called out to her as he opened the door to leave, glancing over his shoulder.

"Hm? Yes?" she responded, not bothering to look up from her roost.

"I love your scar," he told her lowly and genuinely, "It's cute. It makes you unique. I hope you'll tell me the story behind it at some point." Slowly, as if in a trance, Weiss lowered her brush, bracing herself against the sink like she was going to fall over, biting her lip. She even whimpered. From where he was, Grey could see the discrete way she wiped her eyes, and then over her shoulder she gave him a small smile.

"You dolt," she simpered at him. Grey's caustic smirk returned to his face one more time as he walked out of the bathroom.

"I'll see you later," he parted, then went on his way.

Grey had been using the word a lot recently, but the whole situation with these girls could only be described as surreal. If someone had told him when he began the school year that he would end up diving head first into a polyamorous relationship with his best friend and her biggest rival whom, sure he was physically attracted to but hated with the burning rage of the sun itself when he first met her, he would have called child services since someone so naive shouldn't have been left unsupervised. However, a few months and one semester later, and he found himself thriving in that very fantasy.

However, that prosperity wouldn't last forever. The trio had agreed to give Grey until the Vytal Festival Dance to choose which one of them he would become his girlfriend, and he was dreading when that day would come. For now, all he could do was push that out of his mind. A silly grin crossed his features. Looking back over the past year, he would never have imagined getting together with Ruby nor Weiss in this threeway, but if he said this didn't make him happy, he'd be lying. It may only be temporary, but it was finally happening.

All it took for the three of them to get together was both of the girls dying before his very eyes. Definitely a very practical "how I met your mother" story.

Waltzing through the city with a slight skip in his step, he left the shuttle dock and started making his way to where he was meeting his date. If things worked out properly, she should be standing right outside of the venue, but knowing Ruby, she had probably gotten distracted and could be anywhere within a mile of the cinema. The fact that Main Street would inevitably have a crowd outside of it would make finding her even more difficult, but fortunately, Ruby wasn't the quietest personality and would most likely stand out in one way or another, and just after turning the corner he could see her accosting a dog walker by lying on the ground as each of the nine canines played with her. Grey wasn't sure what was more adorable- the dogs cuddling and licking Ruby like she was a giant piece of candy, or the way she giggled like she was going to have a heart attack from cuteness.

"Hi, Grey!" Ruby grinned as she noticed her man standing off to the side with a cheeky grin and his hand cupping his chin as he watched her fun, "How long have you been standing there?" Sitting up, Ruby ruffled the fur of the pomeranian that jumped into her lap and laughed at the Saint Bernard that licked her cheeks.

"Longer than you'd like," Grey said warmly, holding up his phone, "I did get a few good pictures, though."

In response, Ruby stood up with that laugh making her face glow red happily, bidding the dog walker farewell, and giving Grey a solid kiss on his lips, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck helping keeping her balance since she had to stand on her toes to reach up to him. Pulling away with a bright blush, Ruby's eyes glistened at her lover amorously. Grey felt like his heart was trying to bounce out of his chest just so it could hug Ruby itself, he was so excited.

Separating and starting their walk towards their destination, the pair's fingers interlocking with one another, the boy gave her a quick once over. She dressed up today. Well, normally the girl wore combat skirts and waist cinchers, so black ripped jeans, combat boots with three straps over her instep, and a bright red tank top was dressing up for her. Even more to the change was that she had taken the extra step to put makeup on today, something she normally avoided. She had taken the time to apply a generous amount of maroon eyeshadow for a smokey eye effect, painted her lips a glossy scarlet, and had even borrowed Blake's crucifix and a pair of spiral gauges from Yang. However, it was the fingerless biker gloves that really pulled the outfit together. Before they even made it to where they were heading, Grey had one thing he wanted to tell her, and leaning down to whisper in her ear, he brushed his lips against her head softly, his tone just as gentle.

"You look beautiful today, Ru…" he murmured. Ruby shivered before answering.

"Thank you," she whimpered, then immediately kicked herself for sounding so pathetic, "So, what are we seeing today?" It didn't take long for them to arrive at Vale's most popular cinema where the crowds were already filing inside.

"Oh, I thought I'd completely ignore the type of person you are and the type of movie you'd like to see and decided to go for something obnoxiously romantic like the Notebook," Grey said so confidently that Ruby wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"You can't be serious, Grey," she asked through a giggle, running her hand through her hair nervously.

"Pfft, of course not!" he chuckled, "I'd be the first to tell you that I'm an idiot, but I'm not that stupid." In one fluid motion, he took two tickets out of his pocket and handed them to Ruby, who read them and then proceeded to scream and kiss him aggressively.

"I've been wanting to see this movie for forever!" she squealed, jumping into her boyfriend-for-the-day's arms and wrapping her legs around him, making him prop her up on his waist with a grunt. Respectfully, he made sure to link his fingers underneath her so she wouldn't think he was copping a feel.

"I thought you'd like that," Grey said victoriously, "Come on. Let's go grab our seats."

With that, Grey carried the girl into the theater and picked out a rather secluded location in the back for them to sit, and as the previews rolled, Grey didn't waste time wrapping an arm over his date's shoulders. How could Ruby resist curling into his side like that? Grey wondered if the way she had her head buried into his chest like that let her feel how hard his heart was beating? He wasn't at all apprehensive about this date, however. As soon as Ruby's body pressed against his own, he simply realized with a start how much he had wanted something like this. Affection, intimacy, and romance.

He couldn't wait to hear his friends tease him for being such a sap.

 **(A/N) As always, My Friends, Favorite, Follow, Review, and post your theories! I know I said this last time but medical issues got in the way, so HOPEFULLY, the next chapter should be up in time. Have a good three weeks!**


	16. Valuable Lessons

**(A/N) Unfortunately, I know darn well that the next chapter is going to be late. I haven't had a working computer for weeks and haven't even started the next chapter because of it, but because I don't want to leave my Beautiful Hunters without something to whet their appetites for two whole months or so, I threw this together for you. It's an idea that's been rolling around in my head since last year thanks to a beautiful tumblr post I saw.**

 **In regards to my computer, here's the short version: there was a hardware issue that prevented me from refreshing it, reloading it, reinstalling windows, and even recycling the whole thing.**

 **The long version is that, in the last computer I had (an Asus Notebook, but I have an HP Envy now), there was a lot of volatile hardware right underneath and around the mousepad, and since the mousepad gets the most abuse on a laptop, that hardware was slowly being damaged, eventually breaking it beyond use. I hadn't even had that laptop for eight months before it broke down. Naturally, I'm not going to pay the $700 it would take to fix this thing, a price more than what I paid for it, when the same issue was going to repeat itself only half a year down the line. Instead, I paid the $953 after tax to get this masterpiece.**

 **Oh! Not only that, but I also got into a car wreck like three days after I got my new computer! How great is that?! I'm honestly surprised the thing still works…**

 **Am I bitter about the whole thing? Noooo not at all! Whatever would give you that idea?!**

 **That aside, it feels so good to write again, and I promise I'll get 3.2 out as soon as possible.**

Valuable Lessons

Every single person you meet, every single child or adult you interact with, you have a chance of making an impact on them. You can change them in some way, hurt them, help them, completely change the course their life may be taking, and all with only a single minute and a few words- nothing else. People change people. As iron sharpens iron, so does one person change the heart of another.

That's what Weiss's favorite nanny told her when she was a toddler, still wet behind the ears and innocent of the way the world worked. She was a religious woman, not that Weiss had ever considered herself the same, but the lesson made sense. Her father, a shrewd businessman, had always told her that the facts are irrefutable even if no one believed them, and the truth is the truth no matter what language it is spoken in, and the evidence always pointed to the idiom "people change people" being an absolute truth. Looking back over the past year and how she had come to know Team RWBY, she had become a different person thanks to them.

Ruby was a child. She was sweet, caring, and much to Weiss's discomfort, tenaciously affectionate. She knew how to treat people. Ruby could take the saddest, most depressed person and after five minutes, get them smiling and laughing again. She was the kindest person the heiress had ever met, and Weiss hated to admit it, but Ruby was a perfect role model and an even better leader. Everyone loved her, and even Weiss had to say that she admired the girl as well. Ruby was like her little sister, and the lesson that Weiss had learned from her was kindness, fairness, and compassion.

Blake on the other hand, was Ruby's polar opposite. While the team leader was loud and wanted to play all the time, Blake was distant and often cold, choosing to remain by herself at times rather than demand attention from her friends. She'd call herself an introvert in that regard, and Weiss had often referred to her as the quiet type. What did she teach the heiress? Blake was the perfect example of calm. She was the type who would listen and observe, rather than throw her voice into the chaos with everyone else, and what Weiss learned from her was the value of silence. More accurately, she taught Weiss that her mouth got her into trouble.

Grey, perhaps, taught her the most important lesson. He was unbelievably loyal, and would fight anyone and everyone if it meant protecting the people he cared about. Weiss had never knew what it was like to have friends until he came along. He taught her how to open up her heart to those around her, and the sense of accomplishment that helping those around her, those she cared about could fill her with. If he wasn't there, Weiss wouldn't have lasted at Beacon.

The worst part about returning to Atlas is that she would never be able to see him again.

As for Yang… Yang was incredulously dense. Her personality reflected fun, apathy, often times laziness, and crude humor. She was a handful at best, and verbosely infuriating at worst. Whatever Weiss had learned from her, she didn't know. As far as the princess was concerned, the blonde bimbo was the last person she wanted to share anything with.

She missed her friends. As she ate dinner at her family's mahogany dining table, Whitley at her right and a briefly visiting Winter at her left, it was painfully obvious that the coldest part of the meal wasn't the parfait that would be served later for dessert, but her father's discerning gaze from across the table. The tension between himself and Weiss was suffocating to those around them. The Schnee matriarch, Regina, and Jacques' mistress and business advisor, Scarlet, both of whom Weiss loved dearly, seemed to suffer the greatest. Granted, Regina was already on her fourth bottle of Chardonnay, so she was probably too drunk to care about anything other than her next glass, let alone that the woman who arguably stole her family from under her was sitting across from her.

Sitting there underneath the judgemental ire of her father, Weiss realized how badly she needed Team RWBY with her. Ruby would crack uncomfortable jokes while hilariously misunderstanding fine etiquette, while Blake made wry comments under her breath at her father's less than kind attitude, Yang making inappropriate remarks in an attempt to flirt with Scarlet and Winter. Not to mention that Grey could ease her mind just with his hand tightened around hers, whether or not he called out her father for how he treated her.

On second thought, Weiss didn't want Team RWBY to be at her mansion with her. The inevitable drama that their presence would cause aside, Weiss instead wanted to reunite with them, wherever they were. She needed to escape.

"Are you alright, Dear Sister?" Whitley asked with a dry, pitiable smile, "You haven't touched your au gratin potatoes. I thought they were your favorite." Her brother's words were kind, but there was a venomous subtext behind them of how much he despised the woman before him.

"Worry about yourself, Whitley," Winter demanded across from him, not bothering to look up from her plate to which she was giving the same treatment as her little sister.

"Of course, Winter," the boy retracted, dipping his head politely, "All I was saying is that Weiss has been rather depressed since she returned home. One would think that she actually prefered to be back at that lower class academy in Vale."

Both of the Schnee sisters glared at him from under their lashes, ready to tear into him with even Scarlet on the other side of the table looking like she was ready to argue. Unfortunately, Jacques took the lecherous pleasure of stopping it before it could begin.

"Now, Whitley, it's quite alright," the CEO regarded him cruelly, "I'm sure Weiss must have her reasons for missing such a place after spending a whole year in those cramped, rundown dorms of theirs. Please, give Weiss a bit more time to recover from the culture shock of returning to her true home."

The awkward silence once again returned to the dinner table as the youngest of the Schnee siblings bowed his head and returned to his meal after shooting the girls a humorless smirk. Winter raised her eyebrow at Weiss. The girl was no longer turning her vegetables over absentmindedly, but was now gripping her butter knife with her jaw set in a tight line.

Weiss, her father, and her brother were constantly at odds, but keeping with Blake's lessons, she maintained her silence. Even if it killed her, she had to bite her tongue. Before she had left for Beacon Academy, Weiss wouldn't have hesitated to lash out with the fire of the ancient dragons behind her, but now she knew that at best she would have to wait for the right opportunity to say anything. It would have been much easier to verbally destroy them, but much less effective than the alternative. Unfortunately, Jacques made it difficult.

"If you ask me, Beacon deserved its destruction," he continued, "If their security detail had been a bit better, or maybe if they didn't have such an apathetic leader like Ozpin, then maybe they could have prevented such a disaster." Weiss looks up from her peas with a bright fury in her eyes.

"Dear, hundreds of people were killed," Regina slurred, her eyes unable to focus on her husband. Jacques waved her off like she wasn't even there, making her bow her head and avoid eye contact with everyone else and behaving like the worthless piece of trash Jacques constantly reminded her she was. She finished her wine.

"I'm not the only one who believes so, either," the bourgeoisie continued, "Most of the Atlesian and Mistralian councils think that it was the lackadaisical approach to his training and organization of his soldiers that not only allowed the attack to happen, but let it progress to the point where Vale fell. If Ozpin was such a good teacher, then how had his students failed so spectacularly? And what about the Atlesian military that turned on their own allies?"

"Need I remind you, Father, that the Atlesian Knights were a Schnee product?" Winter said coldly, wiping her mouth with her napkin. Weiss nodded in agreement, grateful that her sister was always ready and willing to defend her comrades in arms.

"The city was retaken almost immediately, as well," Scarlet said with a dark scowl directed his way, glancing at Weiss briefly who looked like she was going to throw up, "Even the grimm dragon has been relocated after becoming dormant thanks to that flash of light on top of Beacon Tower."

Weiss jumped. She had been there leading up to the huge explosion on top of the school. Grey and Ruby had tried to rescue Pyrrha, but whatever had created the light that had decimated the academy almost entirely had plagued Weiss for months.

"Yes, but the attack still happened due to Ozpin's negligence," Jacques growled, clenching his fists, "After all, it's better to avoid a problem than deal with one, isn't that correct? Not to mention that it was Glynda Goodwitch that had retaken the city- not her formerly complacent superior. Huntsmen are soldiers, not people, and need to be bred into the weapons they are meant to be."

At this point, Weiss felt like her eyes were popping out her skull as she resisted jumping down his throat.

"Team RWBY is the best example of Ozpin's inability to lead," Jacques finished, his voice low and threatening, "One of Weiss's teammates- yellow, was it? She attacked an innocent man who had been withdrawn from the tournament, and another one, the goth girl, I believe, was not only a filthy animal, but a terrorist as well."

Weiss closed her eyes tightly during her father's verbal destruction of her team, trying her hardest to shut him out. Blake? She was a faunus, true, but she was also the one who would most likely bridge the gap between the two races and usher the world into an era of peace. And Yang? She was a brute and a bimbo to be sure, but she was also the best big sister Weiss could have asked for aside from Winter.

"Oh, and let's not forget the team leader and her boyfriend-" Winter and Scarlet both furrowed their brows like they were about to murder Jacques who had not yet taken the cue to shut up "-such a terrible leader would of course choose to date someone like him. Forget her approach to leadership, turning Weiss into the mess she returned to us as, her boyfriend was such a slouch. What was he, a nameless drifter? A homeless sellout? In any case, I am pleased to hear that he-"

A shred of white hairs fell of his head, fluttering onto his plate. Everyone, even Regina who was too drunk to react immediately, recoiled at the sound of the dinner knife embedding itself into the back of the wooden chair next to the patriarch's head. Silence had filled the room save for one faunus servant in the corner who had dropped to her feline knees in fear, simpering into her hands. Weiss's eyes looked dead, void of emotion. Mutely, she returned to her chair without retrieving the knife she threw, satisfied with both the action and the result it had caused and yet not even cracking a smile, and when she picked up her fork to devour her parfait, she shared a look with Winter and Scarlet. They all had the same cocky smirk on their lips.

Somehow maintaining his composure, taking a few deep breaths to either contain his rage or not to panic, Jacques laced his fingers over his mouth, eyes closed. When he was finally able to speak again, the overcast Atlas skies in the windows behind him seemed to shroud him in darkness, but even that evil air surrounding him couldn't break Weiss's victory. As the other maids pulled their broken down sister away, Jacques attempted to regain control.

"Pass the salt," he demanded, his voice a steely calm.

Weiss had finally figured out at the moment of his request what she had learned from Yang. The blonde was a party girl, a rockstar, a loudmouth, and primarily, she was a comedian, and beyond all else, she was also Weiss's unofficial big sister. If someone who filled such an important role couldn't teach Weiss something, than who else could? Weiss was simply unaware of what that lesson had been before now.

Yang had taught Weiss the divine value in puns. If Jacques wanted the salt, then how could she possibly deny such a request? With a single, swift, fluid motion, the former heiress threw her arm out over the table, grabbed Whitley by the collar, and threw him across the table so hard that the dishes were launched into the air from the force, flying across the room. Jacques didn't even try to catch his only son. However, he did manage to jump out of the chair at the last moment before Whitley crashed into the place where he was only a second before, both of the men gaping bemusedly at the show of force.

Weiss didn't wait for a response. Winter, Scarlet, and even their own mother laughed furiously at the situation, Scarlet even going the extra step and cheering for more destruction, so Weiss could only leave the room. If she could be so bold, she would call her victory nothing less than a blaze of glory.


	17. Rewrite Announcement

**(A/N) I've come with a statement! The War of Onyx and Aber is going to be rewritten!**

 **I tried to break the news in the best way I could. For two years, The War of Onyx and Aber had been my baby and has been on hiatus for the majority of 2018, and it's with no small amount of remorse and a lot of soul searching that I've decided I can't continue this current version anymore. However, I've tried to be very clear that I'm not going to abandon this story, and I'm holding to that, and as such, the War of OA- a project I've thoroughly enjoyed -needs to be rewritten with a type of great quality an idea like this deserves.**

 **I now full well that's going to piss all of you off. In fact, I've avoided this for almost three months because I knew the kind of reaction this would receive from the people who have been following this story faithfully. The problem is that I just can't bring myself to continue something that I can't put my heart and soul into. I love this story. Let there be no doubt that this was the first major project I took on as a writer, and I'm going to finish it, but that's also why I refuse to let it be a cesspool of rotten judgement and nonsensical BS. Two of my other stories may be fleshing themselves out pretty nicely, but this one? I haven't felt comfortable with it in a long time. I set out in the first chapter with a specific mission in mind to create a romance between three characters with someone I hoped would make a really engaging main protagonist, but I don't feel like I accomplished this. Aside from the B-Plot involving the hunter and his master, everything in the story feels forced to me.**

 **When I asked myself why Ruby and Weiss fell in love with Grey, I couldn't answer it. Why did they? Because Ruby and Grey fought together once? Because he rescued Weiss? Because this happened after several hours of Grey hounding them to be friends? Aside from that, what was Grey's primary motivation? To get everyone to be civil with each other. Why? To what end does this actually matter? It was clearly only a secondary motivation since overall, nothing came from it- no character development, no struggle, and no real change. Grey was as one dimensional as it gets. With a character like that who gets women to love him "cuz raisons," I find myself unable to even find the motivation to continue. I feel as though, if I did, it would be against everything I stood for.**

 **That's why I'm going to rewrite the War of OA. The new name is yet to be determined, but not only do I want this story to be great for the sake of it, and for my own personal standards, but I want to deliver the best tale possible to you guys. I want each and every character to be fully fleshed out. I want each of them to become people that readers can relate to, can empathize with, and not feel as though they're watching something happen on a page as much as they are experiencing the story with someone they admire. Most of all, I want the relationship between Weiss, Ruby, and Grey to be natural and something to be proud of.**

 **On a related note, if you guys haven't yet, download and play the JPDE Dating Sim for RWBY. The gameplay is… awful… but the story is PHENOMENAL and I give it a 10/10 easily. It's one of those stories that you can and should very well go out of your way to read, so if you get the chance, then please go for it. Even more than that, buy the manga collection. They bring such a new light to each of the main cast from the source material that they easily repay the money you spend on them, pretty much paying for themselves by the last chapter.**

 **Before I close this up, I want to list off what I'm going to work on in the rewrite. First and foremost, I'm going to improve upon and grow Grey's character, and with how much I've already done so, I like where he is. I feel like he had a good basis as he was come Act 3 Chapter 1, as if looking at the outline or the foundation for the character he could eventually become, but now I feel as though I've turned him into a truly great character. At the very least, I could logically see Ruby and Weiss falling for him.**

 **Second, I realize now that rushing Red Ivory into the relationship was not a good idea. Even though it was the story I wanted to write at the time I published the story, as I mentioned previously, the relationship seemed forced and I couldn't see the three being a triad that my readers really shipped. Hell, by the final chapter, I could have easily seen people shipping Grey and Neo before the other two.**

 **Lastly, I want to rework the interpersonal conflict between Red Ivory. If you ask me, that was the source of where the rest of the story went wrong- there was too much conflict between them, and it made the story… somewhat depressing. Don't get me wrong, it worked out pretty well in many regards, but it crippled where it counts, and I couldn't save the story from there.**

 **I am sorry for doing you wrong like this everyone. I hope that you will follow me into the rewrite, and if it helps any of you cope, I'm accepting input on the rewrite's title, the characters, and the plot, so leave a review or PM with any ideas, complaints, threats to me or my family's safety and I'll be sure to get back to you.**

 **If nothing else, I feel... good that I was finally able to come clean with everyone so we could finally return to the story.**


End file.
